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THE 



MINERAL AND THERMAL 



SPRINGS 



OF THE 



UNITED STATES AND CANADA. 



JOHN BELL, M.D., 

AUTHOR OP " BATHS AND MINERAL WATERS ;" " BATHS AND THE WATEST 

REGIMEN ;" LECTURES ON THE PRACTICE OF PHYSIC ; " REGIMEN 

AND LONGEVITY ;" * DICTIONARY OF MATERIA MEDICA," 




PHIL A D H, L y H I A : 

PARRY AND McMILLAN, 

SUCCESSORS TO A. HART, LATE CASEY & HART. 

1855. 



* 



Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1855, by 

JOHN BELL, M. D., 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States 
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 



TO 

LEWIS WALN, Esquire, 
€$s Iraitll 36nnk 

ON A GREAT SUBJECT 

IS INSCRIBED, 

IN TESTIMONY OF ESTEEM, 

BY 

THE AUTHOR. 



PREFACE, 



The want of a manual in which travellers 
for curiosity and pleasure, and invalids in 
quest of health, might learn where to go, how 
to go, and what to find, in relation to the 
Mineral and Thermal Springs of our country, 
has been generally felt. Physicians, too, 
have wished for a work to which they could 
refer for information respecting the physical 
and chemical properties and medicinal vir- 
tues of the several springs. There are, in- 
deed, some published accounts of particular 
springs, and even groups of springs, as, for 
example, of those of New York and of Vir- 
ginia, of which free use has been made in the 
following pages. But, with the exception of 
a work by the author, issued twenty-five years 
ago, no attempt has hitherto been made to 

A* 



VI PREFACE. 

collect and arrange methodically the nume- 
rous separate and scattered histories and de- 
scriptions of the different mineral and thermal 
springs of the United States, as has been done 
for those of Great Britain and Ireland, of 
France, of Germany, and, in a more restricted 
manner, of Italy. 

Duly elaborated and refined, and fitted for 
immediate use by an all-wise and beneficent 
Creator, these waters constitute a large and 
important addition to our Materia Medica. 
They come to us with the recommendation, 
not only of their known curative powers, but 
also, of their supply being perennial and in- 
exhaustible, and exempt alike from change 
and adulteration. They are offered, more- 
over, with the associated advantages of pure 
air, new and often romantic scenery, and en- 
livening company ; for it is now understood 
that Pleasure and the Graces are also visitors 
to the fountains of Hygeia. Thus are the 
best means combined together for the reno- 
vation of the wasted and sickly frame, and 
for an infusion of hope and cheerfulness into 
the mind ill at ease, if not weighed down 
with care. 



PREFACE. Vll 

Like every other gift, this one maybe, and, 
unfortunately, often is greatly abused, owing 
to ignorance and false theory, and an impa- 
tience to obtain decided results within a period 
far short of that which Nature requires to ac- 
complish the intended purpose. Measuring 
efficacy by quantity, invalids often commit 
excesses which aggravate, instead of soothing 
and ameliorating their complaints. So, also, 
a want of adaptation, in the time of drink- 
ing the mineral water and of using the bath, to 
their actual condition, is productive of injury; 
and bad effects are attributed to the remedy 
itself, which are owing to the indiscretion of 
those who made improper use of it. The au- 
thor, in the following pages, has endeavored 
to guard visitors to watering places against 
repetitions of these and other mistakes. With 
this view he offers suggestions and advice 
susceptible of general use and application; 
leaving to the regular medical adviser the 
exercise of his privilege in giving those mi- 
nute directions which may be required by the 
constitutional peculiarities of the invalid, and 
the stage and other circumstances of the dis- 
ease under which he labors, and for the cure 



Vlll PEEFACE. 

of which he goes to the Spring selected for 
the purpose. 

An invalid, once arrived at the Spring, 
although he may have been influenced in his 
selection by what he may have read in these 
pages, is not to suppose that the information 
thus acquired can enable him to dispense with 
suitable medical advice, if it can be procured, 
on the spot. It would be a wise economy in 
all who propose to drink the water, to indicate 
to the resident physician their intentions, and 
to obtain from him an outline of the precau- 
tions to be taken and the course to be pursued 
during the period of his stay. 

The strictly medical portion of the present 
volume is intended for the perusal of the pro- 
fessional reader. The general one, whether 
traveller or invalid, will, it is believed, find 
in other parts of it matter for instruction and 
interest, without his engaging in the recon- 
dite questions of pathology and therapeutics. 
Apart from its hygienic features, there are 
others relating to the natural history of mine- 
ral and thermal springs, well adapted to ex- 
cite, and, to a certain extent, gratify the curi- 
osity of an inquiring mind. A description of 



PKEFACE. IX 

the temperature, composition, modes of issue 
of these waters, and the nature of their depo- 
sits, and the geological appearances around, 
can scarcely fail to awaken an interest in the 
most indifferent. It is barely necessary, in il» 
lustration of this point, to refer to the Geysers 
and the Stokkr, the Spouting Springs of Ice- 
land; or to the alabaster deposits at the Baths 
of San Filippo, in Tuscany, furnishing mate- 
rials for medal and bust ; or to the wavy ter- 
races formed by the springs of Heliopolis, in 
Asia Minor, and the miniature temples, as if 
for a dwelling of the Naiads, deep in their wa- 
ters. In the Boiling or Carbonated Springs of 
Kansas, the Beer Springs and the Steamboat 
Spring in Oregon, the Hot Springs of Pyra- 
mid Lake in Utah, and the Volcanic Springs 
of California, we have equally rare and striking 
pictures of nature under new and varied as- 
pects. At some of these spots, the people of 
the Atlantic and Pacific States will, ere long, 
meet in convention to adjust questions of 
State politics and Church discipline; or, on 
pleasure bent, will here keep high holiday. 

The author has arranged the materials 
gathered from a variety of sources, in such a 



X PREFACE. 

manner as to show the distances and bearings 
of the different springs of the great West 
from each other, and from some striking ob- 
ject in nature — a river, a lake, or a mountain 
range, so as to enable the reader to find them 
with comparative ease on a common map. 

It may be well to say, in explanation of 
the moderate size and scope of the present 
volume, that, although entire in itself, the 
subjects of which it treats were intended to 
be included in a larger work on mineral and 
thermal springs in all parts of the world. 
That which is now introduced to public 
notice with a hope that it will promote the 
public good, must, therefore, be regarded as 
an earnest of the intentions of the author, 
and an instalment of his accumulated stores. 
The larger work will embrace the natural 
history of springs, common as well as mine- 
ral and thermal, and a description of the 
successive steps of mineralization, begun in 
the atmosphere, and continued in the suc- 
cessive stages of the percolation of atmo- 
spheric or meteoric water, in the form of rain, 
melted snow, and precipitated vapors, through 
various and successive strata of earths and 



PREFACE. XI 

rocks, where it is impregnated with differ- 
ent saline and mineral substances, and then 
emerges from its subterranean channels as a 
fountain or spring, with all its newly ac- 
quired, but, at the same time, permanent 
characters. Next come up for consideration 
thermalism, and the connection between ther- 
mal springs, and volcanoes and subterranean 
and central heat. Artesian wells, the waters 
of which have so close a relation to those of 
common springs, by community of origin ; of 
mineral ones by their frequent mineral im- 
pregnation ; and of thermal by an increase of 
their temperature with that of their depth — 
have received a full share of attention. The 
author, in his investigation of these subjects, 
has followed the voyagers of circumnaviga- 
tion and discovery, and other travellers and 
zealous missionaries in their wanderings and 
adventures. He has put under contribution 
journals of science, and the transactions of 
learned societies, and, in this way, he has 
collected accounts of mineral and thermal 
springs in greater number, and over a wider 
range, than has yet appeared in any single 
work. 

In thus leaving the beaten track and seek- 



XU PREFACE. 

ing out sources of information in quarters 
hitherto overlooked, the author has written 
a kind of Itinerary, in which he has not con- 
fined himself to a mere enumeration of the 
various springs, and their geographical situ- 
ation in general. He has introduced, in ad- 
dition, topographical sketches, descriptive of 
localities and scenery; and he has made fre- 
quent references to historical events and great 
names associated with different springs — as 
of Leonidas and his three hundred performing 
their last ablutions at the Hot Springs of 
Thermopylae; Aristotle revisiting those of 
his own Lesbos ; Hannibal at the Warm Baths 
of Brusa, and Cicero and his "Academy" 
and a long list of other illustrious Eomans, 
in connection with those of Baiae; Pliny the 
Elder, at Stabile, taking his last look at the, 
to him, fatal eruption of Vesuvius ; and Char- 
lemagne holding court in the great bath at 
Aix-la-Chapelle, &c. &c. 

Not only will the springs of Europe with 
their physical and chemical characters and 
medicinal effects be described, but groups 
in all other parts of the world will obtain 
adequate notice. Already he has passed in 



PREFACE. Xlll 

review, and made due record of the mineral 
and thermal springs of Asia Minor, of Cir- 
cassia and the Caucasus, of Hindostan and Thi- 
bet, on each side of the great Himalaya range, 
of Central and Northern Asia to Kamtschatka, 
and of North and South Africa. The 
islands from Iceland to New Zealand, and 
thence to those of Japan and the Aleutian 
group have been similarly visited, and their 
hydrography and thermography described. 
The line of the Andes, followed from the 
Straits of Magellan to the Isthmus of Pana- 
ma, and Mexico, with her mountains, exa- 
mined, the author will then have collected his 
materials, and be ready to impart all that 
he has gleaned with so much labor and time, 
to the reading public. 

Eeverting to the volume now comple- 
ted, it will be found to contain notices, 
more or less full, of one hundred and 
thirty springs and groups of springs belong- 
ing to the United States. If account were 
taken of each separate spring of the seve- 
ral groups, which is marked by distinctive 
properties, the number would exceed two 

B 



XIV PREFACE. 

hundred. Of those described, there are, as 
will be seen in the tabular view presented 
in the Appendix, about thirty of the ther- 
mal class, a great majority of which must be 
quite new to most readers. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Chemical division of mineral waters — Their efficacy as 
remedial agents inquired into — Hygienic precautions 
for visitors to mineral springs — Clothing, diet, sleep, 
amusements, exercise . . . . .13 

CHAPTER II. 

Rules for drinking mineral waters — Time of the day — 
Best in the morning early — Repetition — Same rule for 
bathing — Quantity drank — Different temperatures of 
the water drank — Cold — Tepid — Hot — Condition of the 
invalid modifies the effects of the waters — Bathing while 
drinking mineral waters, and rules for the use of the 
bath at different temperatures — Division of baths 31 

CHAPTER III. 

First effects of drinking mineral waters — Secondary and 
remote effects — Diseases in which they are employed — 
Five classes mentioned by a committee of the French 
Academy on the subject — Comparative results in dif- 



XVI CONTENTS. 

ferent diseases — Two great classes of invalids — The 
plethoric in the first — Sufferers from fever, disorders 
of the digestive apparatus, direct and secondary, bron- 
chial disorders, rheumatism, nervous and skin and 
uterine diseases in the second class . . . *%& i 

CHAPTER IV. 

Mineral springs of New York — Their geological relations 
— Acidulo-saline waters — Those of Saratoga and Ball- 
ston — Their situation and extensive range — Chief 
springs at Saratoga — Physical properties and analyses 
of the waters ....... 60 

CHAPTER V. 

Medicinal employment of the Saratoga waters — In conges- 
tive states of the digestive system, and plethora — Sym- 
pathetic disturbances — Quantity of the water drank — 
Time of drinking it — First or purgative operation — 
Second or alterative . . . . ... 78 

CHAPTER VI. 

Sulphureous Springs of New York — Are numerous — 
Sharon — Avon — Their medicinal effects — Various dis- 
eases in which useful — Quantity to be drunk . 93 

CHAPTER VII. 

Other Sulphur Springs of New York — Clifton — Chitte- 
nango — Manlius Springs and Lake — Messina — Auburn 
— Rochester — Verona — Saquoit — Newburgh — Al- 
bany, &c. &c 120 



CONTENTS. SV11 



CHAPTEE VIII. 

Acid Springs, called also Alum Springs — Byron Acid or 
Sour Springs — Oak Orchard Acid Springs — Their com- 
position — Diseases in which used — Acid Springs in 
South America — Nitrogen and Thermal Spring of 
Lebanon — Brines, or Salt Springs — Gas Springs 131 

CHAPTEE IX. 

Springs of Maine: Saline ones of Lubec — Chalybeate 
ones of Dexter. Springs of Vermont: Highgate — 
Newburg — Alburgh — Bennington — Clarendon. — » 
Springs of Massachusetts: Berkshire — Hopkinton. — 
Springs of New Jersey: Schooley's Mountain — Its 
situation — Composition and virtues of the waters 142 

CHAPTEE X. 

Pennsylvania Springs : Bedford — its situation — The use 
of the waters in disease — Origin of their reputation — 
Contraindications to their use — Anderson's Spring — 
Analysis — Medicinal effects of the water — Fletcher's 
Spring — Limestone Spring — Sulphur Spring — Sweet 
Spring — Chalybeate Spring — Baths — Walks and 
scenery — Manner of using the water — Recent 
analysis — Chalybeate Spring near Pittsburg — Frank- 
fort Mineral Springs — Springs of York — Perry 
County — Carlisle — Doubling Gap — Fayette — Blosburg 
— Bath— Petty 's Island* — The Yellow, Ephrata, and 



* See II. in the Appendix. 



XVlll CONTENTS. 

Caledonia Springs — Caledonia compared to Malvern 
Springs — Brandy wine Springs in Delaware . 182 

CHAPTER XI. 

Virginia — Its numerous mineral and thermal springs — 
Bath (Berkley County) — Jordan's White Sulphur — Ca- 
pon — Fauquier or Warrenton — " Virginia Springs" — • 
The Bath Alum — Rockbridge Alum — Volcanism and 
Thermalism — The Warm Springs — The Hot Springs — 
Group of Sulphur Springs— The White Sulphur 183 

CHAPTER XII. 

Red Sulphur — Salt Sulphur — Sweet Sulphur — Blue Sul- 
phur — Sweet Springs — Red Sweet Springs — Healing 
Springs — Dibrell's — Rawley's — Holstein — Church- 
Hill Alum— Huguenot 224 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Kentucky Springs : Harrodsburg — Rochester — Olympian 
— Blue Lick — Lower Blue Lick — Ohio Springs: 
Yellow Spring — Westport — Illinois Springs — Tennes- 
see Springs: White Creek — Robertson's — Lee's — 
Nashville — Winchester — Montvale . . . 241 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Springs of North Carolina : The Warm and Hot Springs 
of Buncombe County — Springs of South Carolina: 
Glenn's, West's, Click's, Cowpen's— Springs of Geor- 
gia: The Indian — Warm, of Meriwether County — 
Madison— -How reached — Rowland's, Gordon's . 282 



CONTENTS. xix 



CHAPTER XV. 

Springs of Alabama: Bladon — Bailey's — Mineral Arte- 
sian Wells — Springs of Mississippi — Cooper's (Arte- 
sian) Yfell — Ocean Springs — Their situation — Springs 
of Arkansas : Hot of Ouachita or Washitaw — Their 
situation — Between the Hot and Cold Mountains 
— Vapor bath — Cold affusion — Warm bath — Com- 
position of the water — Its resemblance to chicken broth 
— Diseases cured by the water — Chalybeate and Acidu- 
lous Springs — Number of the Hot Springs — Their 
geological relations — Warm bath in the creek — Tem- 
perature of the Springs — Adaptation of the water to 
certain domestic purposes — These Hot Springs resem- 
ble those of Baden, Wisbaden, Teplitz, and Carlsbad — 
Applicable to the same diseases — Cause of the animal fla- 
vor — Vapor bathing — Its effects and utility — Springs of 
Florida : Numerous but not described — Subterranean 
rivers — Sulphur Spring near Tampa, Magnolia, &c. 291 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Mineral and Thermal Springs between the Mississippi 
and the Pacific Ocean — Thermal Spring of Fort Laramie 
— Situation of the fort — Soda or Sal iEratus Ponds — 
Beer Springs on Bear River — Their situation and tem- 
perature — Analysis — Hillocks formed by the waters 
—Steamboat Spring — Why so called — Properties of its 
water — Other similar springs adjoining — Extinct volcano 
near the Beer Springs — Boiling (Acidulous) Springs of 
Pike's Peak — Analysis of Saline accumulations at this 
spot — Temperature of the water . . . 320 



XX CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Springs in Utah and around the Great Salt Lake : Sul- 
phur Springs of Bitter Creek — City of the Great Salt 
Lake — Its situation — Copious supply of water — City 
Warm Sulphur Spring — Hot Spring — Warm Fountains 
— Hot Chalybeate Red Springs — Analysis of their depo- 
sit — Bear Biver Hot Spring — Salt and Sulphur Springs 
— Thermal and Saline Springs — Spring Valley and 
Thermal Saline Springs — Warm Springs of Lake Utah 
— Water of the Great Salt Lake . . . 334 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Fort Hall — American Falls of Snake Biver — Fishing Falls 
— Hot Springs — Malheur Biver Hot Springs — Soda and 
Salt Plain — Hot and Warm Springs of Fall Biver — Hot 
Springs of Pyramid Lake — Springs of California : Hot 
Spring of Shasty Peak — Acidulo-Chalybeate Spring of 
Shasty Peak — Volcanic Springs — Earthquake- Spouting 
Springs — Hot Sulphur Springs — Springs of New Mexi- 
co : Ojo Caliente 344 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Mineral Springs of Canada — Tuscarora Acid Spring — 
Charlotteville Sulphur Spring — Ancaster Spring — 
Caledonia Springs — Their varieties — Gas, Saline, Sul- 
phur, and Intermitting Springs — Mineral Artesian 
Well, St. Catharine's — Varennes, &c. &c. . . 359 



MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 



CHAPTER I. 



Chemical division of mineral waters — Their efficacy as 
remedial agents inquired into — Hygienic precautions 
for visitors to mineral springs — Clothing, diet, sleep, 
amusements, exercise. 

Mineral Springs will be spoken of in 
these pages under the heads of — 1. Acidu- 
lous or Carbonated. 2. Saline. 3. Sulphu- 
reous. 4. Chalybeate. To these some add two 
other classes, the Ioduretted and Bromuret- 
ted, and the Acid. The name of the first of 
these two designates their predominant traits. 
The second or acid includes those waters, 
comparatively few in number, in which there 
is an excess of sulphuric acid, usually with 
alumina and iron, as sulphates. In Virginia, 
they are called Alum Springs. 

1. Acidulous waters are sometimes called 
gaseous, on account of their containing 



14 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

and evolving gas — which is chiefly carbonic 
acid. Owing to this ingredient they are 
sparkling, stimulant, and agreeably pungent 
to the taste. They hold in solution various 
saline substances, in which, for the most part, 
the carbonates, first and mainly of lime, and 
then of magnesia and soda, predominate, 
with the addition often of the carbonate of 
iron and chloride of sodium, or common salt. 
These waters are occasionally spoken of as 
alkaline. 

2. Saline waters, as their name implies, 
abound in salts, of which the sulphate of 
magnesia or Epsom salts, and the sulphate of 
soda or Glauber's salts are, medicinally, the 
most active, while chloride of sodium, a com- 
mon constituent, adds to their virtues in this 
respect. Sulphate of lime, which is of little 
therapeutical value, is quite common in this, 
and still more in the acidulous and sulphu- 
reous classes. Carbonic acid abounds in some 
of the saline waters, entitling them to be 
called acidulo-saline. A remarkable example 
of this union is met with in the Saratoga 
springs. 

3. Sulphureous waters are characterized by 



CHEMICAL DIVISION. 15 

their odor, which is due to the escape of sul- 
phuretted hydrogen gas (hydrosulphuric or 
sulphohydric acid) or to the presence of an 
alkaline sulphuret. They strike a black 
color on the addition of acetate of lead, and 
impart a dark hue to silver and other white 
metals. They have been divided into 1st. 
Hydrosulphureous waters, which contain free 
sulphuretted hydrogen gas. 2d. Sulphuretted 
or hydrosulphuretted waters, in which the 
sulphur is combined with metals, most gene- 
rally with sodium, in the state of a sulphu- 
ret. 3. Acidulo-sulphureous, which hold 
carbonic acid in addition to the gas just 
named. 4. Sulphuretted acidulous waters, 
which contain at the same time a sulphuret, 
carbonic acid, and sulphuretted hydrogen 
gas. 5. Chalybeate sulphureous, which hold 
iron in solution. 

4th. Chalybeate or Ferruginous waters are 
readily recognizable by their taste, compared 
usually to that of ink, which, as most readers 
know, depends on the iron which enters into 
its composition in union with a vegetable 
astringent. Chalybeate waters are discolored 
by tincture of galls, and eventually give, by 



16 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

this addition, a black precipitate; with ferro- 
cyanate of potassa the precipitate is blue. 
By contact with the air, they deposit gradu- 
ally reddish flocculi of the oxide of iron. 
Most of them are cold, and the iron is in the 
state of a carbonate of protoxide dissolved 
in carbonic acid. This salt is precipitated to 
a certain extent by exposure of the chaly- 
beate water to the air, and still more readily 
when it is subjected to heat. In a few in- 
stances the iron is combined in the form of a 
sulphate, and in others, as Berzelius has 
shown, it unites with organic acid, in the 
state of a crenate or a procrenate. 

Another division of mineral springs is 
into cold and thermal, one which is applica- 
ble to all of the four great classes, for we 
have cold and thermal acidulous, cold and 
thermal saline, &c. 

In imitation of Bischof, I shall use, in 
these pages, the term thermal, to designate 
any spring, the temperature of which through- 
out the year is steadily above that of the 
common springs, or above the mean tempe- 
rature of the soil, of the district in which it 
is found. 



OPINIONS KESPECTING THEM. 17 

He who desires to speak of Mineral 
Waters as remedial agents, in an impartial 
manner, finds himself somewhat embarrassed 
between two extremes of opinion ; one of 
which inclines to a belief in their surprising 
and almost miraculously healing powers; 
the other, bordering on skepticism, can see 
nothing in even the admitted beneficial re- 
sults of visits to watering places but the 
working of imagination, and the changes 
brought about by travelling, new and plea- 
sant scenes, regular hours, and relaxation 
from the toils of labor, and the cares of busi- 
ness. The first extreme can only be treated 
as a modified empiricism, which would con- 
vert good remedies, under properly defined 
circumstances, into panaceas of universal ap- 
plication, and never failing efficacy. The 
skeptics, on the other hand, require to be 
reasoned with, although, in truth, their argu- 
ments are hardly more logical than those of 
the empirics. 

The question, after all, is one to be deter- 
mined by observation and experience. Now 
it is an undoubted fact that many mineral 
waters hold in solution ingredients similar to 



18 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

those of admitted activity, which we find in 
the apothecary's shop, and which are com- 
pounded and directed according to formulas, 
laid down in the pharmacopoeia and the dis- 
pensatory. And again, it is equally certain 
that these ingredients are often in such quan- 
tities, in the waters, as to produce marked 
sensible effects, as purgatives, diuretics, dia- 
phoretics, and antacids; means universally 
admitted by observing physicians, in all 
ages, to be those by which a large circle 
of diseases is combated and overcome. But 
mineral waters, when drank in certain pre- 
scribed quantities, and when, under defined 
circumstances, used as a bath, not only pro- 
duce the therapeutical effects of medicines 
obtained from the shops, but they do it with 
more ease, and with less perturbation, and 
even in a painless manner. Shall we then 
deny to these natural compounds, with the 
admitted adjuvants of better air, exercise, 
new scenes, and pleasant company, a power 
and efficacy which is so readily conceded to 
them in a sick chamber at home, with its too 
often unavoidably depressing influences and 
associations? 



THEIR EFFICACY EEAL. 19 

Nor do we find the cure of many diseases 
at watering places, by drinking the waters, 
confined to those who have left the crowded 
city and its unwholesome air. The inhabi- 
tants of the country are often equally bene- 
fitted by the same course of treatment, al- 
though they cannot be said to enjoy the 
additional advantages of change of air and 
of rural scenes obtained by the other class. 
In regard to the state of the mind, and par- 
ticularly an active imagination, by its influ- 
ence on the body, explaining the good effects 
of visits to mineral springs, we do not find, 
by any means, that the most imaginative are 
they who report the most favorably, or who 
exhibit by cures in their own persons, the 
sanitary powers of the waters. On the other 
hand, the dull, unlettered clown, or the ex- 
acting logician and mathematician will often 
come away cured of their dyspepsia, torpid 
liver, rheumatism, or long-endured cutaneous 
disease, by drinking these waters, without 
any exercise of the imaginative faculty, 
either to have relieved or persuaded them 
that they had found relief; and to whom so- 
ciety would be more irksome than agreeable. 



20 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

Animals, moreover, such as horses and cattle, 
and dogs, and even the literal swine have 
been evidently cured of obstinate maladies 
by this means, without our being able to di- 
vide the credit of the cure with country air, 
change of food, and pleasant company. Wild 
animals, prompted by conservative instinct, 
resort in large numbers to salt-sulphur 
springs or "licks," and take freely the un- 
palatable sulphureous ingredients for the 
sake of the saline. 

In chronic maladies, the physician has re- 
course, with avowedly good effect, and on 
what is regarded a philosophic basis, to the 
administration of medicines in minute, but 
still appreciable quantities, constituting what 
is called the alterative practice. In these 
cases, beneficial results, by the great abate- 
ment or entire removal of disease, are 
brought about in a slow and scarcely sensi- 
ble manner, without purging, increased diu- 
resis or sweating. So, in like manner, do 
mineral waters, if their ingredients be few 
and of no great activity, or, more especially, 
if small quantities of the stronger ones be 
given, act as alterative medicaments. Time 



SENSIBLE EFFECTS OF. 21 

is an important element for the amelioration 
or cure, whether the artificial remedies from 
the shop, or the natural remedies from the 
great subterranean laboratory be the means 
employed. Not unfrequently weeks, some- 
times months will elapse after the invalid has 
left the spring, before he realizes the salu- 
tary operation of its waters, in obviously 
amended health, and greater strength and 
spirits; and yet these results are often ob- 
tained, in despite of the counteracting influ- 
ences of return to the old habits of business, 
with its cares, confinement once more to the 
city, and want of exercise in a pure air. 

The sensible changes produced in the blood 
and the secreted fluids by the ingestion of 
certain mineral waters, and even by bathing 
in them, afford strong evidence of their phy- 
siological action ; and would, a priori, lead 
us to infer beneficial therapeutical effects 
and renovation of the system, which had 
been suffering from disease, by the use of 
the same means. A single bath in the hot 
waters of Yichy, which abound in carbon- 
ate of soda and carbonic acid, renders the 
fluids even of gouty persons alkaline, which 



22 MINEKAL AND THEKMAL SPEINGS. 

had been previously acid. It certainly re- 
quires very little faith to make us believe 
that the regular use of these waters, internal- 
ly and externally, for a month or two, must 
powerfully modify the morbid state of the 
assimilating functions,. as in gout and renal 
diseases ; and if we falter in our anticipations 
of good in this way, experience comes in to 
remove all doubts, and establish our favora- 
ble convictions. 

Skepticism has made large use of and con- 
verted into ridicule, the alleged medicinal 
powers, and the cures brought about by 
means of certain waters, in which chemistry 
has failed to detect active ingredients, or, if 
any, these were in such small quantities as to 
be, it is thought, necessarily without effect. 
To this it may be replied, that chemistry is 
sometimes at fault, for a considerable period ; 
but, ultimately, with improved science and 
more delicate processes, therapeutical agents 
of great energy have been found in waters 
which previously had been believed to be 
pure or slightly impregnated with foreign 
substances. Among these agents may be 
mentioned iodine and bromine, and, of late 



MEDICINAL PROPERTIES. 23 

years, arsenic. An announcement of the 
presence of this last in mineral waters, may- 
startle many persons, until they learn that 
this metal is in such minute, but still appre- 
ciable proportions, as to place it safely on the 
prescribing list. Small as are the doses of 
arsenical preparations, in our existing materia 
medica, they are still beyond those in mine- 
ral waters drank in the ordinary quantity. 
The reference is made at this time, however, 
to show that neither the sensible properties of 
certain waters, as measured by taste and smell, 
nor their chemical analysis, when furnishing 
negative results, are proofs of the absence of 
medicinal properties and curative powers in 
these waters. Accident at first 3 sometimes 
the experience of the aborigines on the spot, 
suggested by a resort of the wild animals of 
the forest to the springs ; sometimes the tra- 
ditional, but abiding reputation of their vir- 
tues among the country people around, who 
had used them in certain complaints with ob- 
vious benefit, preceded the more methodical 
trials of educated and scientific inquirers, 
and furnished a large body of experimental 
proof, which ought to have more weight in 



24 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

guiding us to a right decision, than all the 
reasonings and deductions from data of an- 
other kind. 

The most practical men, as many of our 
non-reading, and we fear we must add "un- 
read physicians, love to be called, are in the 
habit of prescribing preparations of iron as a 
tonic, which of all the metals, and indeed of all 
the medicines of this class, is most congenial 
with the organism, and which exerts in many 
disorders of the anemic kind such benign 
and renovating effects. Now many mineral 
waters hold in solution this tonic, and in the 
state, too, of a carbonate, which is generally 
admitted to be its most active form, and one 
which is not easily retained in our customary 
medicinal preparations. 

HYGIENIC PRECAUTIONS IN VISITS TO WA- 
TERING PLACES. 

These come under the heads of clothing, 
diet, sleep, and amusements. In our climate, 
or we may say series of climates, within the 
limits of our vast confederacy, no person of 
common prudence ought to leave home, for 
even twenty-four hours, in the summer 



ATTENTION TO CLOTHING. 25 

months, without having at hand a change of 
warm clothing, including inner garments, 
and those for external use and show. Owing 
to the situation of most mineral springs in 
valleys, or at the foot of a lofty range or 
mountain, the air of the place is cool and damp 
at nights, and in the early morn and evening, 
even although the heat may have been con- 
siderable during the day. It becomes neces- 
sary, therefore, for invalids and persons of 
delicate frames to guard against these changes, 
which are still more trying during a period 
of rain with keen easterly winds. No matter 
what may be the malady or the organ affected, 
the probability of cure will be lessened by 
checked perspiration, or interference with the 
functions of the skin, so that it is chilled or 
thrown into an atonic state through cold and 
moisture. If the happy medium of tempe- 
rature cannot be preserved, it will be safer 
for the invalid to keep the skin moderately 
excited by flannel, merino, or silk worn next 
to it, than to allow it to be, at any time, cold, 
and wanting in activity of capillary circula- 
tion. I shall not enlarge on this point here, 
as in another work {Baths and the Watery 
3 



26 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

Regimen) I have spoken in detail of the sen- 
sibility of the skin, and of its sympathies with 
other organs, and the conditions for preserv- 
ing its functions, as offered in clothing, exer- 
cise, and bathing. The exposure encounter- 
ed by persons of the other sex in putting on 
light attire, and leaving the arms and, at least, 
the neck bare, dancing in crowded and hot 
rooms, with an occasional escape into the 
piazza and its cold air and drafts, brings with 
it new ailments and the aggravation of old 
ones — a result foretold, in tones of warning 
and often of earnest entreaty, but which are 
too often disregarded or -laughed at. Laugh 
and ridicule and disregard the laws of nature 
as we may, we cannot escape the penalty for 
their infraction. They are part of the ordi- 
nances of Nature's God, and can neither be 
evaded nor abrogated by his creatures. 

Although it is not often necessary in 
chronic diseases, as met with in invalids at 
watering places, to enforce very rigid dietetic 
rules, it will always be desirable for them 
to avoid extremes and excesses in the quan- 
tity and quality of the food, and to take it 
at hours, as nearly as may be, the same as 



PROPER DRINKS. 27 

those to which they had been accustomed at 
home. The selection of dishes must be made 
with due regard to their own personal expe- 
rience, not of what they like as palatable, 
but of what they know to be easy of diges- 
tion. As a general rule, the drink at meals 
and in the intervals between them ought to 
be water of such a temperature as best agrees 
with the stomach. They who wish to give 
mineral waters a fair trial, and to derive the 
fullest effects from their excursion to the 
Spas, will abstain from alcoholic drinks of all 
kinds, not excepting the sparkling cham- 
pagne with its bubbling imposition and false- 
hoods, persuading the credulous drinker that 
it came from the vine-clad hills of France, 
when, in fact, the greater part of it first saw 
light in some obscure manufactory of facti- 
tious liquors at home. The ladies, on their 
part, will have to practise abstinence from 
another beverage, the decoction of the Ara- 
bian berry, as it is phrased by poets and fine 
writers, and, in the vernacular, coffee. In in- 
flammatory and irritable habits, and in those 
who suffer from abdominal congestions and 
irregular action of the heart in either sex, 



28 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

coffee is very iujurious. The nervous and 
hysterical, they who cannot sleep, and who 
are on springs, jerky and fidgety, now in the 
seventh heaven of sublimated sentiment, and 
again in the depths of despondency, com- 
plaining, and begging for sympathy, without 
offering any in return, will have to abandon 
the use of tea. If either it or coffee be 
taken at all, they ought to receive so large 
an addition of good milk or cream as just to 
allow of their flavor being retained. In this 
way the drinker may escape the disturbing 
effects of these beverages on the nervous and 
digestive systems. 

Sleep, like other true friends, is most wel- 
come when it comes uninvited, without coax- 
in or wooing, as it generally does in the 
evening, after due exercise and rational 
amusements during the preceding day. But 
sleep can hardly be expected to approach 
those who have shut it out at the customary 
hour of its visit, and who only seek it after 
midnight, with their hearts beating wild yet 
weakly, their temples throbbing, their whole 
system heated, excited, and jaded by the 
close air of a crowded room, and perhaps the 



SLEEP — EXERCISE. 29 

rapid whirl of the waltz and the, at least, not 
graceful movements of the exotic polka, 
which, we must hope, will soon die for want 
of cultivation by those who make any pre- 
tensions to refined taste. 

They who would visit, as they ought to do, 
the mineral spring before breakfast, must rise 
early, which implies that they have gone to 
bed in proper time, so as to allow themselves 
eight hours' sleep. Some will be content 
with six hours. This will be the minimum, 
as the first mentioned period will be the max- 
imum, compatible with health and the due 
exercise of both body and mind. 

Exercise, both as regards kind and amount, 
will be regulated by the constitution and 
practice of individuals themselves, provided 
they had been in the habit of taking daily 
exercise at home. After every allowance 
made for individual peculiarities and parti- 
cular infirmities, it may be laid down, as a 
general rule, that all the visitors at the 
springs ought to take daily exercise on foot 
or on horseback; the time and distance be- 
ing such as to prevent a feeling of much 
fatigue, or exhaustion. In fact, exercise and 
3* 



30 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

recreation ought to be combined ; and amuse- 
ments, to a certain extent, should come under 
the same head. Could the dance be enjoyed 
at- proper hours, adequate space and ventila- 
tion being obtained at the same time, and 
the dancers attired in a suitable, easy-fitting 
dress, it might come under both the heads 
just designated. Various gymnastic exercises 
for the men, and calisthenic for the other sex, 
so arranged that they could be taken in the 
same enclosure, would increase the beneficial 
action of the waters, and contribute not a 
little, in many instances, to the restoration 
of invalids to health. 

No active exercise should be taken for, at 
least, an hour after the chief meal, nor should 
a bath of any description be taken until a 
much longer period has elapsed after eating 
heartily. The better time for both is in the 
early part of the day. 



DRINKING THE WATERS. 31 



CHAPTER II. 

Rules for drinMng mineral waters — Time of the day — 
Best in- the morning early — Repetition — Same rule for 
bathing — Quantity drank — Different temperatures of 
the water drank — Cold — Tepid — Hot — Condition of the 
invalid modifies the effects of the waters — Bathing while 
drinking mineral waters, and rules for the use of the 
bath at different temperatures — Division of baths. 

RULES FOR DRINKING MINERAL WATERS. 

As travelling is always productive of more 
or less febrile excitement and fatigue, the 
visitor at the springs ought to rest a day or 
two after his arrival, before he begins to 
drink the water. A warm or tepid bath may 
be taken in the meanwhile. 

The proper time for drinking a mineral 
water is early in the morning, an hour at 
least before breakfast, when the stomach is 
empty, most impressible, and most readily 
transmits the effects which it experiences to 
the other organs. The water ought not to be 
drunk when the stomach is engaged in the 



32 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

process of digestion, and, of course, not for 
several hours after a meal, especially dinner. 
A neglect of this precaution in drinking 
mineralized water, not only prevents its salu- 
tary operation, but disturbs digestion, and in- 
terferes with those changes which the food 
ought to undergo in the stomach to prepare 
it for being assimilated to the fluids of the 
body, and especially to chyle, or first blood. 
If the water is to be taken a second time 
in the day, this should be two hours be- 
fore dinner; and if its use be admissible at 
all in the evening, it can only be on condi- 
tion that the dinner had been eaten at an 
early hour, we will suppose one o'clock, and 
that no repast had been subsequently taken, 
except perhaps a sandwich or a slice or two 
of bread and butter. As remarked in my 
first work on the subject,* " An invalid may 
drink a moderate quantity of the water be- 
fore breakfast with comfort and advantage, 
but not be able to do the same before dinner 
with equally good effects. He may be able 
to take the water both before breakfast 
and before dinner, and yet if he drink in 

* On Baths and Mineral Waters. —1831. 



THE PROPER HOURS. 33 

the evening he will, perhaps, have a restless 
night, and be worse next morning than he 
had been twenty-four hours before." 

If modifications of the rule now laid down 
be admissible, it will be in the case of the 
milder mineral waters, such as the acidulous, 
in which carbonic acid often abounds, and 
which also hold in solution common salt. 
But the strongly saline, the sulphureous, and 
the chalybeate cannot be drunk with impu- 
nity, either on a full stomach, or during the 
time of stomachic digestion, and before the 
food has been converted into the somewhat 
homogeneous mass of chyme, and has, in 
great part, passed out of the stomach. 

The same rule, precisely, will govern in the 
use of the bath, except in the case of a cold 
one, which should not be taken at all in the 
evening. 

Imperfect sleep on the preceding night, or 
fatigue and languor from late sitting up and 
dancing, will impede not a little the expected 
effect of the morning draughts of mineral 
water, and if it be of the purgative class, 
ought to prevent its use altogether for that 
day. 



34 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

The quantity of water drunk at one time 
must depend on various circumstances — its 
nature, strength of mineral impregnation, 
condition of the patient, and the immediately 
sensible effects expected. When taken with 
a view to its purgative operation, the quantity 
will be much more than when an alterative 
or even a. diuretic, or diaphoretic effect is de- 
sired — supposing always that the same water 
is used to meet these different indications. 
But where others of less activity can be 
drunk in quantity without oppressing the 
stomach, they will be more likely to act on 
the kidneys and skin, and promote free 
secretions from these organs. 

Modifications of effect may be expected 
from the different temperatures at which min- 
eral waters are used. Common water, when 
cold, is rapidly absorbed, saline or mine- 
ral but slowly, and if the dose be consider- 
able, both are eliminated through the kidneys. 
If the temperature be somewhat raised, so as 
to approach the degrees of tepidity, the sto- 
mach no longer receives either common or 
mineral water with the same complacency; 
and if they do not cause nausea, they excite 



EFFECTS VAEY WITH TEMPERATURE. 35 

this organ to expel them, and acting in 
the same way on the intestinal tube, they 
give rise to a purgative operation. At a 
more decidedly elevated temperature, or that 
which brings simple water to the standard of 
hot, it is again better borne by the stomach, 
is absorbed freely, and excites both pulmo- 
nary transpiration, and copious sweating. 
When the water is saline or mineral and at 
a high temperature, it also will act in the 
same way on these organs — lungs and skin — 
provided the impregnation be not very 
strong. The temperate degree, approach- 
ing the tepid, is the most favorable condi- 
tion for mineral water, particularly of the 
saline class, producing a purgative effect, as 
it is also that for creating nausea and vomit- 
ing. In both instances, it stimulates the 
muciparous glands to increased secretion. 

Certain modifications in the therapeutical 
action of mineral waters, and of other medi- 
cinal substances, will depend on the condi- 
tion of the invalid at the time, so that their 
powers shall be exerted on one organ in pre- 
ference to another. Thus certain saline and 
vegetable substances will either cause vomit- 



36 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

ing or sweating, will act as diuretics, diapho- 
retics, or expectorants, according to the state 
of the skin, its feverish heat, or its coldness, 
its warmth by clothing, or its exposure, at 
the time, to dampness and cold. 

If the water be too cold for the stomach, 
it may be kept in corked or otherwise well- 
closed vessels, in the room of the invalid, 
until it acquires the temperature of the air, 
or, if need be, immersed in warm water, so 
as to render it slightly tepid. 

BATHING IN CONNECTION WITH THE DRINK- 
ING OF MINERAL WATERS. 

I alluded, in a preceding page, to the 
prominent part which bathing was made 
to perform in the medical treatment of in- 
valids at the watering places of France, and 
still more of Germany. In similar places in 
the United States, the bath is either entirely 
neglected or is regarded as a thing of second- 
ary or small moment ; and hence the defective 
arrangements in this particular, at most of 
our mineral springs. The bath houses, when 
constructed, are too often small, damp, and 
gloomy, and placed out of the way, instead 



RULES FOR BATHING. 87 

of being near to, if not directly connected 
with the springs, or the main building in 
which the visitors take up their abode. 
There is seldom adequate provision made for 
that most important variety of the bath, the 
douche, which, at different temperatures, cold, 
warm, or hot, is so powerful an agent in the 
cure of many diseases. 

The temperature and duration of the bath 
will, of course, vary with the degree of vas- 
cular excitement and heat of the skin of the 
invalid, as well as with the indications which 
are proposed to be fulfilled by drinking the 
waters. When the saline aperient waters are 
employed with a view to diminish plethora, 
and the remains of febrile excitement, the 
temperate or even the tepid bath will be 
found the best adjuvant; the stay in it short. 
So, also, when acidulous waters are given 
with reference to an alterative action, and 
especially where it is intended to promote 
the secretion from the kidneys, baths of this 
kind will be found serviceable. The action 
both of purgatives and diuretics is favored 
by cool skin, so, on the other hand, their 
operation would be retarded and rendered 
4 



38 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

incomplete, by stimulating this organ, as in 
the case where baths of a high temperature 
are had recourse to. 

When it is desired to keep up a full capil- 
lary circulation in the skin, and to favor insen- 
sible perspiration, so as to allay irritation and 
prevent any vascular strain on internal tis- 
sues and organs, the warm bath will be found 
the most appropriate means for the purpose. 
It will be used auxiliary to alterative doses 
of sulphureous waters, and to the tonic treat- 
ment by chalybeates, in those cases in which 
the latter are used for the relief of languor, 
debility, a pale and dry skin, and a soft and 
rather feeble pulse. In other cases of feeble- 
ness of function, with a hot skin and febri- 
cula, the cool or temperate bath does good 
service. 

When, again, we wish to excite the skin to 
free secretion, by converting sensible into in- 
sensible perspiration, and to stimulate, also, 
a languid circulation and organism generally, 
as in chronic rheumatism and atonic gout, 
anemia and chlorosis, not complicated with 
inflammation of an organ, scaly diseases of 
the skin, of long standing, atonic dropsy, 



DIVISION OF BATHS. 39 

simple paralysis without evident cerebral 
lesion, and indolent glandular and other swel- 
lings, the hot bath, from 100° to 120° F.,and 
the hot douche will be found to aid power- 
fully the stimulating and alterative effects of 
sulphureous waters. 

Differences in the temperature and dura- 
tion of the bath will grow out of the proper- 
ties of the mineral waters employed for the 
purpose. Sulphureous waters, for instance, 
excite the skin and system generally more 
than others. 

Division of Baths. — As there is still a too 
general ignorance of the actual temperatures 
of the received divisions of baths — cold, warm 
and hot, in which not a few medical men par- 
ticipate, it cannot be deemed amiss to intro- 
duce here the table which will be found, also, 
in my work already referred to.* 



1. The cold bath 

2. The cool bath 

3. The temperate bath 

4. The tepid bath 

5. The warm bath 

6. The hot bath 



from 33° to 60° F. 
60° to 70° 
75° to 85° 
85° to 92° 
92° to 98° 
98° to 112° 



* Baths and the Watery Regimen. 



40 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

The only upward limit of the hot bath, 
is that of tolerance by the living body im- 
mersed in it. As regards the effects, in a 
general way, of these several kinds of baths, 
we may speak of them under two divisions, 
therapeutically considered. In the first, from 
warm down to cold, we shall find a calming 
and soothing operation continued, with the 
reduced temperature of the water, to the 
most depressing sedative — in fact a reduc- 
ing power; and in the second from the 
upper degree of warmth, a stimulating and 
strongly exciting operation. What a mis- 
chievous error, therefore, is the too common 
one of confounding a warm with a hot bath, 
and directing the one for the other, as if they 
were convertible terms expressing the same 
thing, instead of being in direct contrast 
with each other. It may serve to indicate 
the striking difference between the warm 
bath and the hot bath, when I say that the 
first is a grateful hygienic agent which al- 
most every body can make use of with bene- 
fit, in addition to its employment as a thera- 
peutical one in the treatment of disease; 
whereas the hot bath is, or ought to be, a 



ADDITIONAL SUBJECT. 41 

remedial agent to be used solely in disease, 
and even then with considerable caution and 
discernment. I shall have something further 
to say on this subject when speaking of the 
thermal springs of Virginia.* 

* There is yet one point connected with sanitary ar- 
rangements and the accommodations of visitors which 
requires reform, viz : that relating to water-closets and 
analogous cabinets, which are placed so often at most in- 
convenient distances from the main house, and which are 
very defective on the score of ventilation and cleanliness. 
A hint might be taken from the arrangements in these 
matters at the celebrated Baden-Baden Springs. 



4* 



42 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 



CHAPTER III. 

First effects of drinking mineral waters — Secondary and 
remote effects — Diseases in which they are employed — 
Five classes mentioned by a committee of the French 
Academy on the subject — Comparative results in dif- 
ferent diseases — Two great classes of invalids — The 
plethoric in the first — Sufferers from fever, disorders 
of the digestive apparatus, direct and secondary, bron- 
chial disorders, rheumatism, nervous and skin and 
uterine diseases in the second class. 

FIRST EFFECTS OF DRINKING MINERAL WA- 
TERS. 

It is not at all uncommon for persons, after 
drinking a mineral water or using a warm, 
and still more, a hot bath for a few days, to 
complain of fulness of the head, or headache, 
lassitude, disordered digestion, with white 
tongue and some degree of fever, accom- 
panied by eruptions on the skin. This is a 
state which the German writers call " Bath 
Storm," or "Crisis," and others " Satura- 
tion." It will generally disappear by in- 
creased discharges from the bowels, or by a 



FIEST EFFECTS OF THE WATERS. 43 

copious sweat, sometimes by diuresis: it is 
regarded by these writers as salutary, and by 
not a few as an evidence of the curative 
powers exerted by the mineral or balneatory 
medication. Looking at mineral waters as, 
with few exceptions, exciting in their first 
effects, we must be prepared for some disturb- 
ance of the kind just described, and either 
suspend for a while the use of the water, or 
greatly diminish its quantity, or even dilute 
it by the addition of common water ; or, as is 
done in some parts of the continent of Europe, 
add to it whey or simple mucilaginous drinks. 
Precautions of this nature are most necessary 
in the case of sulphureous and chalybeate 
waters. The simpler plan will be, to abstain 
for two or three days from the use of the water, 
and not to be too eager to remove the arti- 
ficial, feverish, or other disturbance by very 
active or decidedly reducing treatment ; but 
rather minister to these cases as we would to 
one which might occur at the conclusion of 
an ordinary fever. Eeduced diet, diluent and 
demulcent drinks, and a moderately warm 
bath of 92° F. will commonly suffice. 

In reference to the secondary and remote, 



44 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

and avowedly salutary effects of mineral 
waters, wlien we reflect on the large mucous 
surface of the entire digestive canal, to every 
portion of which they are applied and by 
which they are freely absorbed, thus reach- 
ing all the tissues of the animal frame ; and 
bearing in mind, also, the number and variety, 
and often potency of the ingredients which 
enter into their composition, we are prepared 
to echo the language of a French writer* on 
the subject, when he says : " In general, mine- 
ral waters revive the languishing circulation, 
give a new direction to the vital energies, re- 
establish the perspiratory action of the skin, 
bring back to their physiological type the 
vitiated or suppressed secretions, provoke 
salutary evacuations, either by urine or stool, 
or by transpiration: they bring about an in- 
timate transmutation, a profound change in 
the organism ; they saturate the sick body, 
to make use of the energetic expression of a 
modern author. How many persons, aban- 
doned by their physicians, have found health 
at mineral springs ! How many individuals, 
exhausted by violent diseases, have recover- 

* Pateissier, Sur les Eaux Minerales. 



DISEASES IN WHICH USED. 45 

ed, by a journey to mineral springs, their 
tone, ready movements and energy, to restore 
which, attempts in other ways might have 
been made with less certainty of success !" 

DISEASES IN WHICH RECOURSE IS HAD TO 
MINERAL WATERS. 

These are almost as numerous as the entire 
nosological series of the chronic kind; but 
the number for which reasonable hopes of 
cure can be entertained, is comparatively 
limited, or rather the classes of diseases are 
not many. They consist of those of the di- 
gestive system, in themselves, however, a 
host; of the cutaneous and fibrous systems ; 
and of the glands, secretory and lymphatic ; 
and finally of the nervous system. Under the 
first head comes dyspepsia, with its multifari- 
ous features and sympathies, including affec- 
tions of the throat, and gastric, duodenal and 
colonic dyspepsia, then enteralgia and chro- 
nic diarrhoea and dysentery, constipation, and 
hemorrhoids. Under the second head we 
meet with a great variety of chronic erup- 
tions, some of them associated w^ith and repre- 
senting antecedent diseases, such as syphilis, 



46 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

scrofula, scurvy, &c. The fibrous system ex- 
hibits rheumatism and gout, as their immedi- 
ate seat ; but its lesions are intimately associ- 
ated, in these diseases, with derangements and 
often violent disturbances of the digestive 
system, heart, and brain. The great glands 
auxiliary to digestion, the liver and pancreas, 
and that physiological puzzle, the spleen, 
particularly the first and third mentioned 
organs, are often the seats of congestion and 
inflammation, which, when they have run 
into a chronic form, are much benefited by 
certain mineral waters. Another great gland 
as it is sometimes viewed, the uterus, which 
makes the chief sexual distinction, is often 
disturbed and chronically diseased, and re- 
quires for its relief the combined operation 
of bathing and the drinking of mineral 
waters. The diseases of the lymphatic 
glands, so prominent in scrofula, are rather 
effects of a pre-existing condition of other 
parts, as those of the mesentery are of en- 
teric disease, than primary maladies. They 
belong, also, to the morbid development of 
the scrofulous diathesis. Diseases of the 
nervous system occupy a prominent place in 



IN ANEMIA AND CHLOROSIS. 47 

nosology, in which, they are placed more 
with reference to certain symptoms, effects 
merely, than to their organic seat, or the or- 
ganic lesions which give rise to them. The 
two opposite conditions of morbid sensibility 
and mobility, with irregular spasmodic and 
convulsive movements, and of anaesthesia 
and paralysis, are both of them deemed fit- 
ting subjects for the use of mineral waters, 
and of bathing; for, to insure success on such 
occasions, both of these therapeutical agen- 
cies ought to be enlisted, but, of course, with 
differences in the composition of the waters 
and the temperature of the bath. 

In what is rather vaguely termed anemia 
or anemic condition of the system, depend- 
ing, as is believed, on a deficiency of red 
globules of the blood, although it may be 
preceded by local inflammation, and be asso- 
ciated with plethora, mineral waters particu- 
larly of the chalybeate class, have acquired 
great reputation. The same may be said of 
chlorosis, which is characterized by similar 
derangements of function, in addition to the 
one which makes it more peculiarly a disease 
of women. 



4:8 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

In a report on the subject^ made by a com- 
mittee of the French Academy, for the years 
1833, 1834, and 1835, we are told that the 
diseases, for the benefit of which invalids re- 
sort to mineral springs in France, are few in 
number. They are, first, rheumatism in all 
its forms, the subjects of which make up 
nearly a third of the entire number of inva- 
lid visitors. At some springs they are in the 
proportion of half, in others two-thirds of 
this class. The next are the nervous or 
nervous derangements, augmented sensibility, 
with, often, spasm of the digestive and 
other systems. On the third line are chronic 
inflammations of the mucous and serous sys- 
tems, a large class, comprehending those of 
the digestive and respiratory apparatus, and 
of the uterine and urinary organs, and neu- 
ralgias. At some springs, paralyses and dis- 
eases of the skin, constituting, as it were, a 
specialty, present themselves; after which 
come old wounds, false anchyloses, and lym- 
phatic engorgements. Beyond these five 
classes we only meet, the committee alleges, 
with a few other cases of disease at mineral 
springs. 



THE DISEASES CURED. 4$ 

The data on which, these divisions and pro- 
portions are made are furnished by the an- 
nual returns of the medical inspectors — resi- 
dent physicians — at a great number of water- 
ing places in France. From the same quarters 
we learn the relative efficacy of the waters in 
the different diseases of those who made use 
of them. They are represented to be quite cer- 
tain in rheumatism, tolerably sure for neural- 
gias and neuroses, nearly null for paralysis, 
and not unfrequently useful for affections of' 
the skin and joints. But there must be some 
fallacy in this show of calculation, for we can- 
not suppose chronic rheumatism to be cured 
with the frequency that is alleged by some 
physicians at the springs ; and our doubts are 
strengthened by the fact of the repeated 
visits, annually, of the same persons to the 
same springs with their old disease. 

In appealing to the experience of conti- 
nental Europe for the effects of mineral 
waters, we must, however, bear constantly 
in mind the fact, that the, treatment at most 
of the springs consists both in drinking the 
waters and in bathing. Often, especially in 
Germany, the greatest and sometimes sole 
5 



50 * MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

stress is laid on the latter kind of medica- 
tion. In -the United States, there are few 
attempts made at any methodical combina- 
tion of these two means of cure ; the bath 
being used only on occasions, irregularly, 
and most of the time according to the 
caprices of the patient. It is very desirable 
that physicians should take some pains to 
inform themselves of the value and syste- 
matic method of using the bath at various 
temperatures, and not allow the impression 
to go abroad that the community must look 
to hydropathists and steam doctors for the 
desired therapeutical aids obtainable from 
this source. 

We may, it seems to me, divide into two 
great classes the invalids who resort to 
mineral springs in the United States for 
the relief or cure of their diseases. They 
are, first, those who labor under plethora 
or preternatural fulness of the bloodvessels, 
and particularly of the veins, with deter- 
mination and accumulation of blood in one 
or more organs, keeping them in a criti- 
cal state of distension, and liability, at any 
moment, either from the extreme effects of 



DISEASES FROM PLETHORA. ■ 51 

common hygienic causes, or from morbific 
ones, to ran into congestion and inflamma- 
tion, or rupture of bloodvessels, in the early 
and more acute stage of disease, and into 
congestion with effusion of serum, in the 
subacute and chronic stage. Often, with 
plethora, is associated activity of the assimi- 
lating and nutritive functions, and large de- 
posits of fat in particular regions. But this 
last is not so much an evidence of health as 
a means by which the bloodvessels relieve 
themselves, through the assistance of the se- 
cretions in the tissues, of superabundant mate- 
rial, the retention of which would be peril- 
ous, if not fatal, to the organism. This large 
deposition of oily matter or adeps is, in fact, 
a variety of dropsy, a disease of itself, but 
which serves to ward off more disastrous re- 
sults. Apoplexy, some forms of asthma and 
oppression of breathing, irregular action of 
the heart, congested liver, and piles, are other, 
more fatal or distressing manifestations of the 
state of plethora. Rheumatism and gout, in 
their early stages and more acute forms, are 
the results of an effort of nature to relieve 
the excessive fulness and plethora of the in- 



52 ' MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

ternal, especially the digestive and assimi- 
lating organs, by determination to external 
parts. Certain inflammatory eruptions on 
the skin, such as boils and other pustular af- 
fections, are efforts of a similar kind. 

No better means of relief can be offered 
in plethora, with its various manifestations 
and threatenings, as now sketched, than the 
employment of mineral waters of the saline 
aperient class, with the addition of carbonic 
acid, and a slight chalybeate impregnation, 
which excite copious secretions from the in- 
testinal canal, without irritation, and without 
weakening, while at the same time they dimin- 
ish the undue amount of blood, and carry off 
redundant humors. It would be taking quite 
too limited a view of the operation of these 
waters to suppose that they merely act as 
purgatives, by emptying the bowels of accu- 
mulations in them. They are also depura- 
tives and deobstruents, and produce critical 
evacuations from the entire mucous surface, 
thus relieving congestions of the mucous 
membrane, and of the liver and other abdo- 
minal organs, by an augmented activity of 
physiological action, rather than by irritating 



ABDOMINAL PLETHORA. 53 

and disturbing, as common drastic purgatives 
do. The first are retained and absorbed, and 
increase the appetite and strength; the second, 
as foreign and irritating substances, are ex- 
pelled with pain and effort, as would be 
deleterious substances. 

We must suppose, however, that the be- 
nign operation of the waters is aided by an 
amended regimen, and a change in the habits 
of the plethoric and of those predisposed to 
or suffering from some one or more of the clis- 
orders above mentioned. These persons are 
found, in considerable proportion, among the 
luxurious and over-fed, who have slept too 
much and exercised too little. The most 
common variety of plethora is the abdomi- 
nal, on which the German physicians lay so 
much stress, and to which they refer a long 
list of derangements of the digestive and 
uterine systems, and, finally, nervous disor- 
ders. There may be seen among ourselves 
counterparts of the "fat abdominous and mid- 
dle aged Germans, who live sensual, sedentary 
lives, eating and drinking gluttonously, and 
smoking incessantly," who, like the latter, 
must find relief by throwing off, with the aid 
5* 



54 MINERAL AST) THERMAL SPRINGS. 

of mineral waters, "the perilous stuff" which 
oppresses them. 

The second and largest class of invalids 
who visit mineral springs and other watering 
places, suffer from the remains of fever, dis- 
eases of the digestive canal and its append- 
ages, bronchial and laryngeal irritations, and 
coughs of long duration, rheumatism, irreg- 
ular gout, and nervous disorders ; sometimes 
paralysis, and often cutaneous eruptions. In 
this class are females affected with derange- 
ments of the uterine system, in addition to 
their share of the other maladies on the list. 
"Were we to seek for the chief seat and 
centre of the diseases above mentioned, we 
should undoubtedly find it in the digestive 
apparatus, and especially the alimentary ca- 
nal, which is made to suffer so much and 
so long by a daily, and often thrice repeated 
in the day, load of heterogeneous articles 
of food and drink, and which, in conse- 
quence, spreads by sympathetic radiation, 
its uneasiness and disorders to nearly all 
parts of the living frame. What with much 
eating and fast eating of gross food, and 
drinking of spirituous and other liquors, and 



DISEASED DIGESTIVE OEGANS. 55 

smoking and chewing of tobacco, not to 
speak of drinking coffee in any quantity, the 
digestive organs of our people are sorely 
tried in a direct manner, while, indirectly or 
reflectedly, they are made to suffer by inat- 
tention to the functions of the skin, which 
has so close a sympathy with the stomach 
and bowels, and, most of all, by the continued 
excitement and strain to which the brain and 
senses are exposed in the eager, unceasing, 
and anxious struggle for wealth, and the 
ambitious longings for political distinction 
and office. The life of toil, and the feverish, 
almost insane, thirst for gold at "the dig- 
gings" and in the mines, meet with their 
counterparts, under other names and with 
different manifestations, nearer home. 

"We cannot wonder, with a knowledge of 
these causes, in which we must include a most 
variable climate, or rather contrasted climates 
in the same region, that congestion and irrita- 
tion ©f the digestive mucous membranes should 
be so common, and be exhibited under such a 
variety of symptoms, which are grouped un- 
der the names of different diseases ; and that 
inflammation itself, in a chronic form, should 



56 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

be far from uncommon. The portal circula- 
tion is retarded, and secretions from the liver 
are scanty and imperfect. With imperfect 
digestion there must be also imperfect san- 
guification. The complexion is pale or sal- 
low, or of a brown or an ashy hue ; some- 
times the skin is suffused with bile. The 
kidneys perform their functions imperfectly, 
and according to the predominance of the 
diathesis, the urine shows either lithic acid, or 
phosphate of lime and magnesia, deposits. 
Sometimes constipation, sometimes diarrhoea 
is present; and gastric or intestinal neural- 
gia, and colic, with the passage of biliary 
calculi, torment the invalid. A foul and dry, 
or a loaded pasty tongue, nausea and vomit- 
ing even, indicate the disordered state of the 
stomach, which is oppressed, and often 
thrown into spasmodic contractions by food, 
Avhich in a healthy state of the organ would 
have been easily digested. In females, the 
uterine functions are deranged ; menstruation 
is irregular or suspended, and leucorrhoea adds 
to the feeling of exhaustion, while chlorosis 
completes the sombre picture of languor, 
apathy, and discouragement. The complex- 



IRRITATED BRAIN. 57 

ion in this last disease is emblematic of the 
frame of mind, and the spirits of the invalid 
herself. The brain, which may at first have 
sent by its nerve-conductors to the stomach, 
annoying and disturbing messages of its 
functional fretting, and cares, and vigils, and 
wild transports of joy or anger, receives 
back, by similar means, with large interest, 
from the fatigued, and worried, and irritated, 
and, it may be, inflamed stomach, a crowd of 
unexpected and abnormal impressions, which 
become the sources of strange sensations and 
imaginings, as we see pictured in hypochon- 
driasis and hysteria, and of strange move- 
ments, as in chorea, epilepsy, and in other 
ways ; also in headache, vertigo, ringing in 
the ears, want of sleep, low spirits, languor, 
and disinclination, and still more, inability 
to take much exercise. 

This simplified pathology, which teaches us 
to regard so many seemingly different dis- 
eases as radiations from a common centre, 
allows us to recommend, without incurring 
the charge of empiricism, a class of reme- 
dies, such as we find in mineral waters, whose 
operation, first and mainly manifested at the 



58 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

centre or the digestive system, is subsequent- 
ly diffused through the entire organism. By 
causing copious secretions from the extended 
mucous surfaces, they relieve the congestion 
of the mucous membranes, restore the proper 
activity of the portal circulation, and amend 
the biliary secretions ; and while renovating 
the digestive organs, enable them to form good 

O O 7 O 

blood, which gives color and animation to the 
previously adust complexion, and depressed 
countenance, and which, when transmitted to 
the brain, and the muscles, and the uterus, im- 
parts to these organs new life and activity in 
the discharge of their several functions. The 
brain, moreover, being no longer teazed by 
irritations transmitted from the stomach, al- 
lows the mind to recover its calm, and even 
to manifest cheerfulness, if not hilarity, at 
the consciousness of the removal of a heavy 
load and of distressing pains. 

These successive stages of recovered health 
are not gone through with the aid of one 
kind of mineral water alone; for, although 
the beginning is most satisfactorily made by 
the saline aperient class of these waters, the 
continuation is often advantageously carried 



SUCCESSIVE USE OF THE WATERS. 59 

on by the chalybeate, or the sulphureous, 
with the judicious interposition, at times, of 
the acidulous. Thus we are enabled to car- 
ry out the evacuating, the tonic, the stimu- 
lating, and the alterative parts of the cura- 
tive course. The selection and alternation 
of waters to be drunk, and the quantity to be 
used at one time, will necessarily depend on 
the predominance of disorder in a particular 
organ, and the nature and extent of the 
sympathetic disturbance to which it gives 
rise in the general system, circumstances 
these which must, in a great degree, be ascer- 
tained by intelligent physicians resident at 
the place, or whose stay and frequent prior 
visits have given them the requisite opportu- 
nities to form, correct opinions of the effects 
of the waters. 



60 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Mineral springs of New York — Their geological relations 
— Aciclulo-saline waters — Those of Saratoga and Ball- 
ston — Their situation and extensive range — Chief 
springs at Saratoga — Physical properties and analyses 
of the waters. 

In the following pages, my notice of the 
several mineral and thermal springs of the 
United States will be in geographical order ; 
as more convenient for the visitors to these 
places, although it will cause some repeti- 
tions of opinions and experience respecting 
the curative powers of springs of similiar 
composition in different states. I begin with 
the springs of New York, as the most north- 
erly of the states of which we possess any- 
thing like a detailed description. 

The geological situation of a considerable 
number of the gaseous springs in New 
York, is represented by Professor Mather* to 

* This writer would seem to designate as gaseous 
springs those the waters of which contain or evolve 



ON AXIS OF DISTURBANCE. 61 

be on or near the junction of limestone with 
a talcy slate, which is considered as an alter- 
ed rock, and both these rocks may, in many 
places, be considered metamorphic. They 
are all adjacent to faults in the strata, or 
where the rocks are much deranged in posi- 
tion. Some of these springs are thermal, 
and perhaps all of them would prove to be 
so by a careful measurement of their tempe- 
ratures. Some of them deposit tufa, but most 
of them are as pure as common spring water, 
and are employed for domestic purposes. 

The range of springs, as far as has been 
observed, in the eastern part of the state of 
New York, is from near the Vermont line, 
in the township of Hosick, Eensselaer 
County, by Lebanon Springs, to near Stony 
Point, in Eockland County. Those of Vir- 

nitrogen and carburet ted hydrogen gases. Dr. Lewis 
C. Beck speaks of " Gas Springs," or Carburetted Hy- 
drogen Springs, as equivalent terms. Both these gentle- 
men, by this nomenclature, restrain within entirely too 
narrow a compass, the division of gas or gaseous springs, 
Both carburetted hydrogen and nitrogen springs are 
merely subdivisions or varieties of the class, if we can 
really make one of gas springs. 

6 



62 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

ginia, and perhaps intermediate ones, may- 
be considered as on the same great axis of 
disturbance. It is probable, continues Mr. 
Mather, that observers may find similar 
springs in Vermont, Massachusetts, and New 
York, along the continuation of this line of 
disturbance. The thermal springs of Vir- 
ginia, as we shall soon see, have nearly the 
same geological relations with those of New 
York, and are on the same, or a parallel axis 
of upheaving action. 

New York is rich in mineral springs, es- 
pecially those of the sulphureous class. The 
acidulous, although in smaller number, fur- 
nish, however, some which are more cele- 
brated, more visited, and endowed with more 
medicinal virtues than any other, not only in 
the state, but in the United States. I refer, 
of course, to those of Saratoga, a spot en- 
deared by its historical associations to every 
American. Ballston, a few miles distant, 
was at one time the place most visited by in- 
valids and summer travellers ; but for seve- 
ral years past it has been, in a great measure, 
neglected. Alone, or situated in another part 
of the country, such is the mineral strength 



SAEATOGA AND BALLSTON SPRINGS. 63 

of its waters, it could not fail to attract much 
company. 

SARATOGA AND BALLSTON SPRINGS. 

These waters are appropriately enough 
called acidulous, from the abundance of car- 
bonic acid and of carbonates which they 
contain ; and, owing to their large impregna- 
tion with chloride of sodium or common salt, 
they are also actively saline, and hence their 
proper designation must be acidulo-saUne or 
carbonated saline. These springs, we are told 
by Dr. Steel,* are all situated just along the 
verge of the secondary, and not far from the 
transition formation. Those of Saratoga 
seem to form the centre of a long range in 
the shape of a crescent, commencing at Balls- 
ton lake, about eleven miles to the south- 
west, and terminating at the Quaker Springs, 
at Stillwater, to the southeast. At Saratoga, 
they are more numerous and diversified in 
their sensible qualities, than at any other 
place ; but it may be said that, with few ex- 
ceptions, all the mineral springs in the cres- 

* Analysis of the Mineral Waters of Saratoga and 
Ballston, &c. 



64 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

cent just mentioned appear to possess the 
same qualities, and differ only in the propor- 
tion of substances common to all. It would 
seem, therefore, as if they received their dis- 
tinctive properties in one vast laboratory; 
some of them being modified, in their passage 
to the surface, by the geological character of 
the upper stratum through which they 
passed. 

If we admit the correctness of Dr. Dau- 
beny's observation, that the temperature of 
the water of the Congress Spring, at Saratoga, 
51° F., is three or four degrees above the 
mean temperature of the earth at this place, 
we can give credence to the opinion of the 
thermal origin of the water, and of the mode 
of extrication of the carbonic acid so largely 
found ; it being brought about by subterra- 
nean heat acting on limestone rocks. The 
first process would consist of the junction of 
carbonic acid, coming through clefts and 
small canals, with the meteoric water which 
had reached its greatest depth and was 
beginning to rise in larger canals. The 
second process would be the decomposition 
and solution of portions of certain rocks, 



FORMATION OF CARBONIC ACID. 65 

and the formation of acidulous springs, 
rich in carbonic acid and carbonates. The 
same heat which would drive off carbonic 
acid from limestone, would readily raise the 
temperature of the meteoric water which 
finds its way into the interior of the earth, 
and we should then have thermal — warm and 
hot springs. Eeasoning in this way, we can 
easily adopt the views of those who maintain 
that carbonated and thermal springs are 
similar in their mineral, and still more in 
their geological position, and seem to be 
plainly referable to the same system of causes. 
The separate formation of carbonic acid is 
evinced in the fact of its evolution in its pure 
gaseous state in caverns and from crevices in 
certain districts, unaccompanied by water, 
but in which, for the most part, there are, 
also, copious carbonated or acidulous springs. 
Examples of this nature are frequent ; as in 
the vapor caverns of Pyrmont, mentioned by 
Bischof. This writer tells us, also, of a 
mineral spring entirely destitute of carbonic 
acid opening on the bank of a rivulet, al- 
though the abundant deposition of iron ochre 
shows that the spring must have contained 
6* 



66 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

a considerable quantity of gas, and, in fact, 
we have not far to seek for it. At the dis- 
tance of a few hundred feet higher up, and 
at a level of twenty feet above the spring, 
there is a cavity so filled with carbonic acid, 
that it is only at the risk of losing his life 
that one dares to venture into it.* Here we 
must believe that the gas originally mingled 
with the water of the spring, and, by the re- 
moval of the hydrostatic pressure from this 
latter as it approached the surface, escaped by 
another channel. Often the carbonic acid es- 
capes through the water itself, in such a man- 
ner and at intervals as to show its separate 
and independent origin. Thus, at the Park 
Spring (Ballston), as we learn from Dr. 
Lewis C. Beck,f " minute bubbles of gas are 
continually rising through the water ; but at 
an interval of about a minute, the whole will 
be agitated by the evolution of a compara- 
tively large bulk of the gas. This gas, 
which is in all cases nearly pure carbonic 

* Subterraneous Course of Water, and the Absorption 
of Gases by Water in the Interior of the Earth. — Edin. 
Phil. Journ., vol. xviii. 

| Mineralogy of New York, p. 137. 



ABSORPTION OF CARBONIC ACID. 67 

acid, also rises in great abundance through 
the water of a well near Low's Spring, and 
in various places in the valley of the stream. 
Some years since, there was a very remark- 
able and, indeed, almost volcanic discharge of 
it near the old factory, which threw up the 
water of the creek several feet into the air ; 
but the gas soon diminished greatly in quan- 
tity, and can now be observed rising only in 
small bubbles through the bed of the 
stream." 

"When the gas meets the water in the low- 
est part of the hydrostatic pressure, and 
when the canals of water proceed downwards 
to a great depth in the earth, these various 
relations are favorable to the entire absorp- 
tion of the gas. When, on the other hand, 
the gas enters the canal nearer the surface of 
the earth, it may easily happen that only a 
part shall be absorbed, while the larger por- 
tion passes freely through the water. In 
this case, we are led to believe that the ab- 
sorption of the carbonic acid by water takes 
place near the surface. Bischof calculates 
that at the springs of Meinberg, in Lippe- 
Detmold, the gas joins the water canals at a 



68 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

depth of about fifty feet below the surface. 
Mr. Mather suggests that the mineral quali- 
ties of the Ballston waters originate at the 
contact of the slate with the Trenton lime- 
stone, which he thinks is not more than fifty 
feet below the level of the valley. The size 
of the bubbles is, Bischof thinks, regulated 
by the nature of the ground. If the spring 
comes from larger clefts in the mountain, the 
bubbles are large ; but if from many small 
openings of a porous rock, the supplies are 
often not larger than the gas beads of cham- 
pagne. 

The Saratoga Springs are. mostly situated 
in a low, marshy valley, near a ridge of lime- 
stone, and rise from a bed of blue marly clay 
that underlies the valley and the sand plains 
in the vicinity. The water sometimes rises 
from the clay, sometimes from the underlying 
limestone, and sometimes from a layer of 
quicksand. At the depth of thirty or forty 
feet, the stratum is underlaid by a system of 
boulders.* 

The water of the Ballston Springs rises 
from a bed of quicksand, beneath the bed 

* Mather — Geology of the State of New York. Part 1. 



ARTESIAN WELL AT BALLSTON". 69 

of clay filled with pebbles, boulders, and 
gravel, and which is commonly called " hand 
pan." The sand bed is supposed to rest in 
the fucoidal or graptolitic slate (and this 
slate is seen in place at a very short distance). 
The mineral water rising through a bed of 
quicksand, carries much of this sand along 
with it, and this is impacted so tightly in the 
tubes as to obstruct the free flow, and fre- 
quently causes it to break out elsewhere. 
The springs are thus lost, and in other cases 
springs of fresh water frequently break into 
the wells, and dilute the mineral qualities of 
the water. A well was dug at Ballston Spa, 
near the creek, during the spring or winter 
of 1840, and after digging thirty or forty 
feet, there burst up a current of water from 
the bottom of the well, which gave a stream 
sufficient to drive a mill. The water was 
slightly acidulous, and seemed to be a mix- ' 
ture of the mineral water of this vicinity 
with fresh unimpregnated water. "Should it 
be advisable to bore for water at Ballston 
Spa," continues Professor Mather, " I would 
advise the boring to be carried even into the 
calciferous sandstone, if water should not be 



70 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

obtained before, for the source of the mineral 
qualities may be deeper than the junction of 
Trenton limestone with the slate." 

It has been already remarked that the 
groups of springs at Saratoga and Ballston 
possess very nearly the same properties ; the 
difference consisting in the proportion of the 
saline and gaseous ingredients. In and near 
Saratoga are found the several springs known 
by the titles of Congress, Pavilion, Union, 
Putnam, Iodine, High Eock, Flat Eock, 
Hamilton, Columbian, and Washington. Of 
these, a preference has been given for some 
time past to the one first mentioned; fashion 
directing the choice as much as any demon- 
strable superiority in its favor. 

Congress Spring. — Subjoined are the analy- 
ses of this water, a pint being the quantity 
on which the proportions are based. They 
were made by Professor Dana and Doctor 
Steel, and are reproduced here as we find 
them in Dr. Lewis C. Beck's "Mineralogy of 
New York." 

The temperature of the water is stated by 
Dr. Steel to be 50°, and by Dr. Daubeny 
51° P. It remains the same at all seasons, 



ANALYSIS OF CONGRESS WATER. 



71 



nor is the quantity of the water changed at 
these periods. 



Chloride of sodium 
Hydriodate of soda 
Carbonate of soda 
Bicarbonate of soda 
Carbonate of magnesia 
Bicarbonate of magnesia 
Carbonate of lime 
Carbonate of iron 
Silica 
Hydrobromate of potassa 



Carbonic acid gas 
Azote, or nitrogen 
Atmospheric air 

Gaseous contents 



Grains. 


Grains. 


. 54.30 


48.13 




0.44 


. 2.00 






1.12 


. 4.00 






11.97 


. 18.00 


12.26 




0.63 


. trace "with iron 0.19 




trace. 


78.30 


74.74 


Cubic Inches. 


Cubic Inch 


. 39.10 


39.00 


. 0.90 




• 


0.87 



40.00 39.87 



Dr. Chilton's analysis, as given by Dr. 
North,* differs from the above in its exhibit- 
ing a minute or fractional quantity of alu- 
mina and sulphate of soda, and marked pro- 
portions of iodide of sodium and bromide of 
potassium, viz : 5.920 grains in a gallon of 
the water. The entire amount of solid con- 



* Analysis of Saratoga waters ; 
Virginia, White Sulphur, &c. 



also of Sharon, Avon, 



72 mineral and thermal springs. 

tents was 543.998 grains, and of carbonic 
acid 284.65, and atmospheric air 5.41 = 
290.06 cubic inches. 

Pavilion Spring. — The water of this spring, 
with a smaller quantity of saline contents — 
311.71 grains in the gallon — than that of the 
Congress, exceeds this latter in the propor- 
tion of carbonic acid, which is 359.5 cubic 
inches. The Pavilion Spring is now in the 
centre of the town, near the Columbian 
Hotel. 

Union Spring. — This spring, at the eastern 
border of the town, near the road to Schuy- 
lerville, was represented by Dr. Beck to con- 
tain a larger proportion of saline ingredients 
than any of the preceding ones. The asser- 
tion has not been borne out by the analysis 
of Dr. Chilton, which gives 392.907 grains 
of solid contents in a gallon of the water. 
The carbonic acid is in somewhat less pro- 
portion than in the Pavilion, and consider- 
ably more than in the Congress water, being 
344.16 cubic inches in a gallon of the water. 
Putnam Spring. — This, called after its 
owner, ranks among the richest of the 
springs of Saratoga, on the score of chaly- 



WALTON AND HIGH ROCK SPRINGS. 73 

beate impregnation, containing as it does 7 
grains of the carbonate of iron in the gallon, 
in addition to the ingredients common to it 
and the other springs. 

The Iodine or Walton Spring. — The water 
of this spring contains, according to an ana- 
lysis of Professor Emmons, in addition to 
the other ingredients, hydriodate of soda, in 
the proportion of 3.5 grains to the gallon of 
water. Its chalybeate impregnation is greater 
than that of the Congress water, but less than 
that of the Pavilion, Union, and others. Tem- 
perature 47° F. 

The High Eock, Flat Eock, Washington, 
Hamilton, and Columbian Springs, analyses 
of which are given by Dr. Steel, resemble 
each other, and those already described, with 
the modified feature of being actively chaly- 
beate. 

The High Eock Spring is surrounded by a 
conical rock of calcareous tufa, formed by 
deposits from the water itself; its diameter, 
at its base, is between eight and nine feet, 
and at its summit, between five and six. The 
somewhat singular appearance of this foun- 
tain first introduced it into notice; and, as 
7 



74 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

we are told by Dr. Steel, it remained, for a 
time, the only one in use, when much was 
. said by the credulous of its astonishing effects 
in the cure of nearly all diseases. Tempera- 
ture 48° F., the same as that of the Flat Eock 
Spring. 

The High Eock was the spring first dis- 
covered, or rather the first to which the at- 
tention of the then colonists was directed by 
the Indians, in whose traditions it had long 
been celebrated for its medicinal virtues, 
especially for the cure of rheumatism. They 
were first drawn to the spot by the great 
quantity of game that frequented it as a 
salt-lick. The first white visitor was Sir 
William Johnson, in 1767, who was very 
subject to gout, and whose health was im- 
proved by the use of the water. About the 
year 1784 and 1785, accommodations were 
provided for a few invalids, and about this 
time the Flat Eock, the President, and the 
Eed Springs were discovered. 

Dr. Steel, to whom I am indebted for this 
historical notice, describes in addition to 
those already mentioned, the Hamilton, Eed 
Spring, Jackson, Alexander, Ellis's, and Sul- 



BALLSTON SPRINGS. 75 

phur Springs. The Eed Spring derives 
its name from the deposit of iron ochre, 
which colors the fine sand that is readily 
mixed with the water on its being agitated. 
Its temperature is 48° F. That of the Pre- 
sident is 51° F., of Jackson 50°, the same as 
the Columbian, Ellis's 47°, Alexander 48°, 
Hamilton the same. The temperature of the 
Sulphur Spring is 50°, while that of a foun- 
tain of pure water close by, or within ten 
feet, and which rises from the same bank, is 
at 46°, and this last is, we believe, higher 
than the average of the common springs of 
this district, so that all the mineral springs 
of the valley may be considered as, to a cer- 
tain extent, thermal. 

Ballston Springs. — This town is about 
seven miles southwest of Saratoga. The 
springs are mostly situated in a marshy spot, 
at the bottom of the deep valley of the 
stream Kayaderosseras. The bed of the 
stream is slate, although it cannot be assert- 
ed that the carbonated waters have their 
origin in this rock. The springs at Ballston 
were discovered about the year 1787, and 
owing to their advantageous position, and to 



76 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

the enterprise manifested by the proprietors 
of the lands on which they were situated, in 
erecting good houses of accommodation, and 
making other improvements, this place took 
the lead of Saratoga for the next fifteen or 
eighteen years. Since then, thanks to Mr. 
Putnam's exertions in erecting a large house 
for the accommodation of visitors, near the 
Congress Spring, Saratoga has rapidly ac- 
quired a celebrity which promises to be as 
permanent as it is now widely diffused. 

The situation of Ballston is represented to 
be pleasant and healthy, and the air " ex- 
tremely clear and cool ;" a praise, on the score 
of coolness, which cannot be awarded to 
Saratoga, much as we may admire the gene- 
ral healthiness of the place. 

Of the different springs at Ballston, men- 
tion may be made of the United States, the 
Fulton Chalybeate, the Franklin Sulphur, and 
Park, and Low's Well. 

The United States Spring is highly charged 
with carbonic acid, while the others contain 
only a small proportion of this gas. The 
temperature of this spring is 50° F., which 
does not seem to vary during the year. Spe- 



low's well axd paek spring. 77 

cific gravity of the water 1.00611. Accord- 
ing to an analysis made by Dr. Beck, one 
pint of the water contains 

Grains. 

Chloride of sodium . . . . 53.12 

Carbonate of soda 2.11 

Carbonate of magnesia . . . . 0.72 

Carbonate of lime with a little oxide of iron 3.65 

Sulphate of soda 0.22 

Silica 1.00 

60.82 
Carbonic acid 30.50 cubic inches. 

It will be seen that the Congress water at 
Saratoga contains from 13.50 to 17.50 grains 
of saline substances, and between 9 and 10 
cubic inches of gas more than this water, in 
equal quantity. 

Low's Well resembles the preceding in its 
ingredients, but its water contains less saline 
matter. Its specific gravity is 1.02548. 
Temperature 50°. 

Park Spring at the rear of the Village 
Hotel has, also, nearly the same composition, 
" but the oxide of iron is in much larger pro- 
portion than in any of the waters of the 

vicinity." 

7 * 



78 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 



CHAPTER V. 

Medicinal employment of the Saratoga waters — In conges- 
tive states of the digestive system, and plethora — Sym- 
pathetic disturbances — Quantity of the water drank — 
Time of drinking it — First or purgative operation — 
Second or alterative. 

Medicinal Employment of the Saratoga 
Waters. — The diseases in which the aperient 
saline waters of Saratoga are serviceable 
may be included in the sketch already given 
of those which proceed from, or are associ- 
ated with, a congestive state of the digestive 
system, and with abdominal plethora. The 
feeling of load and oppression in the abdo- 
men, sometimes resulting from undue reten- 
tion of food in the stomach, sometimes from 
enlarged liver or spleen, sometimes from 
fecal accumulation in the large intestine, and 
again from flatus and distension in different 
parts of the canal, often from sluggish circu- 
lation of the portal system, all of which de- 
rangements of function may manifest them- 



SAEATOGA WATERS IN DISEASE. 79 

selves at the same time, will be relieved in 
the same way, viz : by free secretory action 
of the mucous membranes of the intestinal 
canal, procured by the purging springs of 
Saratoga, such as the Congress water. The 
disorders of the abdominal viscera here no- 
ticed, pass by the various names of dyspepsia, 
liver disease, bilious complaints, costiveness, 
piles, &c. They are associated with, or give 
rise to, very different degrees of excitement 
of the heart and circulation generally, and of 
disturbance of the nervous system, according 
to the susceptibility of the individual. Some 
invalids suffer from febrile excitement, ex- 
hibited by a frequent pulse, a dry and hot 
skin, and thirst ; others from nervous disor- 
ders, pain, cramps and spasm; the pulse 
being little changed, and the skin cool or 
moist and clammy. The physician will not 
allow his attention to be diverted by the 
variety of these secondary or symptomatic 
disorders from the main, central, and primary 
one, nor fail to see the necessity of directing 
his treatment for the removal of the abdo- 
minal congestion. 

When it is ascertained that there is no ex- 



80 MINERAL AXD THERMAL SPRINGS. 

isting inflammation or febrile excitement re- 
quiring more decidedly and promptly de- 
pleting and reducing means than those fur- 
nished by the Congress water, or others of 
a similar character on the spot, recourse will 
be had to them, and their use continued in a 
methodical manner. To meet the indications 
already laid down, they must be administered 
in such quantities as to produce copious and 
repeated evacuations from the bowels daily, 
for a period of at least two weeks. Failing 
to act at first as an aperient, in the ordinary 
quantities, they should be reinforced by the 
addition of a drachm or so. of Epsom salts, 
and of half the quantity of common salt, 
dissolved in the first tumbler of the mineral 
water ; for, in the beginning of a course of 
drinking the Saratoga water, there can be no 
compromise or half-way results. There must 
be free purging if we wish for the best imme- 
diate effects; and, also, if w r e desire to put 
the digestive system and the economy gene- 
rally, in such a condition that it will be still 
more benefited and strengthened by a sub- 
sequent alterative treatment from the use of 
the water in small quantity, or by a tonic 



QUANTITY TO BE DKUNK. 81 

course from drinking other waters, in which 
the iron is more abundant, or into the com- 
position of which iodine enters. 

The quantity of the water drank to produce 
the desired aperient effect, is from one to three 
pints, early in the morning, in draughts of 
half a pint, at intervals of from five to ten 
minutes ; the invalid walking about or taking 
other exercise during the whole period. If 
unable to go to the spring, he should pace 
up and down a piazza or long corridor, and 
might use dumb bells at the same time. An 
hour at least ought to elapse between drink- 
ing the last draught of the water and break- 
fasting. Confinement to his room will not, 
however, preclude the invalid from drinking 
the water in the manner now mentioned ; but 
it will be desirable that he should begin at 
quite an early hour, and allow a still longer 
period to elapse between his last glassful 
and breakfast than if he had gone to the 
spring. 

While thus laying so much and such de- 
served stress on the purgative action of the 
Saratoga waters, we must not suppose that 
their good effects, at the very time, are all ob- 



82 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

tained in this way. Eeference lias been al- 
ready made to the copious secretion from 
the kidneys, caused by this class of waters. 
As they are largely absorbed and enter the 
bloodvessels, they cannot fail to reach every 
tissue, and modify every secreting process in 
the living body, while they are exerting their 
chief activity on the intestinal mucous mem- 
branes and its secretory glands. The liver, 
and the pancreas, and the salivary and muci- 
parous glands, and the pelvic viscera, must 
all of them be impregnated by this diffusive 
medication; nor will the skin escape the influ- 
ence of this cause, as we soon see by its greater 
softness and suppleness, and improved color. 
In fact, the alterative process is going on con- 
temporaneously with the purgative, as evin- 
ced not only by the improvement in the as- 
similating functions, but also in those of the 
nervous and muscular systems. The invalid 
is in better spirits, looks on the world with a 
more cheerful and kindly feeling, and is both 
willing and able to walk abroad, and to in- 
dulge in active exercises, if not sports. 

All these pleasant results are not, we may 
well suppose, gained in the first two weeks 7 



TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF USE. 83 

drinking of the Congress or other similar 
water at Saratoga ; but approaches are made, 
and a consciousness is felt that much good is 
to follow. It will be proper to suspend, after 
that period, the use of the water for a few 
days, so as to allow time for the functions to 
resume, as near as may be, their physiolo- 
gical action, and thus enable the physician to 
measure the actual results of the course 
which has just been gone through. He can 
then, according to the state of the invalid, 
either congratulate him on his rapid progress 
towards a cure, or, seeing that there is real 
amendment, but still some remaining disease, 
counsel a renewal of the treatment. This will 
consist in resuming the use of the water in pur- 
gative doses, or in smaller quantity, in order 
to produce more entirely its alterative and in 
degree tonic effect. If the latter course is de- 
termined on, the water will still be taken in 
the morning in preference to any other time, in 
a dose of half a pint ; and if more be thought 
desirable, it may be repeated in the same 
quantity at noon, or an hour before dinner, 
and if this meal have been a light one, and 
eaten early in the afternoon, say at one or 



84 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

two o'clock, again in the evening befor'e re- 
tiring to bed. Even smaller quantities, taken 
at these intervals of time, and continued for 
two or three weeks, will be found to exert a 
very salutary effect, especially in dyspepsia, 
chronic bowel disease, and irritation of the 
kidneys or bladder, scrofulous swellings, and 
chronic rheumatism. But, in order to derive 
full benefit from this course, it ought to be 
conjoined with the daily use of the tepid or 
the warm mineral bath : the first, if the skin 
is dry and warm ; the second, if it is cold, and 
the pulse slow. 

In many of the disorders already mention- 
ed, the direct result of disease of the diges- 
tive organs, as well as in others of secondary 
occurrence, it will be well, after the purgative 
course is completed, to pass from the use of 
the Congress to the Iodine or some other 
spring, such as the Pavilion or Putnam's, in 
which there is a larger proportion of iron. 
More especially will this be desirable in those 
cases in which the invalids have suffered 
from periodical fever, hypochondriasis, hys- 
teria, and anomalous pains in different parts, 
or from partial paralysis and chlorosis. 



THE SULPHUR SPRINGS. 85 

After suitable purging by the waters, 
which of itself gives great relief in chronic 
bronchitis, the alterative treatment, as de- 
scribed above, will contribute to carry off the 
disease, particularly in those cases, and they 
are frequent, in which the stomach is de- 
ranged in its functions at the same time. 
But it is not necessary that I should specify 
all the chronic diseases arising from pervert- 
ed nutrition — tumors and deposits — or from 
chronic inflammation and thickening of 
tissues and ulcerations. The same rules will 
govern in the treatment as those already laid 
down. They may be summed up briefly 
in saying, that effects of an actively reducing 
kind are to be first produced by the waters, 
as purgatives, and of secondary and alterative 
ones by their longer use in smaller doses. 

The sulphur springs within the village 
possess, we are told by Dr. North, but feeble 
sulphureous qualities. Abel's Spring, in 
the southeast border of Saratoga Lake, is 
richer in this particular; and as it can be 
visited twice daily, through the summer, by 
a line of omnibuses to the lake, and a fine 
steamer on the latter, its virtues cannot 



86 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

fail to be fully tested by a crowd of invalid 
visitors, some of whom have already spoken 
highly of its good effects iised internally. 

"There is still another sulphur spring 
about two miles west of Saratoga village, on 
the farm of Mr. Benedict, and near Kowley's 
stone mills. This water contains table salt, 
lime and iron, besides sulphuretted hydro- 
gen and carbonic acid. It promises well for 
bathing, and has already done much for the 
cure of certain cutaneous affections." 

The dry and bracing nature of the atmo- 
sphere of Saratoga, and " the highly balsamic 
or rather turpentine qualities with which it 
is impregnated by the numerous pine and 
other forest trees that have been allowed to 
remain in and around this beautiful village," 
are told with all due emphasis by Dr. North. 
There is room for improvement in opening 
out walks in different directions, with trees 
planted on either side, and in laying out a 
park on the hill above the Congress Spring. 

Excursions, furnishing variety and amuse- 
ment, are made to Saratoga Lake six miles 
south of the springs and the same distance 
from Ballston Spa, and to Long Lake, five 



SARATOGA TO LAKE GEORGE. 87 

miles from the latter spot. Saratoga Lake, 
which is nine miles long and three broad, is 
much resorted to for fishing, boating, and in 
quest of game. The less adventurous are 
satisfied with traversing the lake in its 
length by steamboat, and returning by the 
same means. At certain points picturesque 
views of the country around are met with, 
and at one spot a bold feature in the land- 
scape offers in Snakehill, which projects into 
the lake near the southern end. Long Lake 
is five miles long and one broad. It abounds 
in fish. 

Many persons visit Lake George from Sa- 
ratoga. The first part of the route, for a 
distance of sixteen miles, is by railroad to 
Moreau, thence over a plank road for four- 
teen miles to Caldwell on the lake. Some 
stop at Glen's Falls, five miles from the rail- 
road station, in order to enjoy the view of 
the fall of a body of water nine hundred 
feet wide, over a precipice of forty feet, with 
irregular angular interruptions, to the extent 
of several hundred feet. Caldwell, at the 
head of Lake George, is represented to be a 



S8 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

very pleasant .spot for spending a few days 
in the summer months. 

Saratoga Lake discharges itself, by the 
medium of Fish Creek, into the Hudson 
River near the village of Schuylerville, for- 
merly famous for its herring fishery. On 
the flat land, adjoining the river on the north 
side of Fish Creek, are still to be seen the 
remains of the fortified camp erected by 
General Burgoyne, in his retreat after the 
disastrous engagements at Stillwater and Sa- 
ratoga. At this place he surrendered his 
whole army to the American forces under 
General Gates. 

Travellers from the south and the east 
reach Saratoga by way of Albany and Troy, 
from both of which places, the former forty 
miles the latter thirty-two miles distant, they 
come on railroad by way of Schenectady. 
From Canada, Niagara, and the Lakes, the 
approach is made by means of the Albany, 
and Buffalo Eailroad, through Schenectady. 
A railroad runs from Saratoga to Whitehall, 
making a connection with Lake Champlain. 

Albany Artesian Mineral Wells. — This well 
was procured without the intention of the 



ALBANY CARBONATED SALINE SPRING. 89 

parties to whom we are indebted for its ap- 
pearance above ground. The design of Messrs. 
Boyd and McCulloeh was to obtain, by boring, 
pure water for the supply of their brewery. 
In the place of this there came bubbling up 
from the depth of four hundred and eighty 
feet, a saline water, rich in the carbonates 
and carbonic acid, and emitting at the same 
time carburetted hydrogen or burning gas. 
On boring to the depth of six hundred feet, 
the flow of carbonated water and of this 
gas continued. Afterwards, a tube was sunk 
to prevent the admixture of the latter with 
the mineral water. Similar results were ob- 
tained by boring, at the distance of a few rods 
from this spot, to the same depth, with the 
singular addition of the escape of sulphuret- 
ted hydrogen'gas from a vein of water which 
was struck at about thirty feet from the sur- 
face. "We have then," continues Dr. Beck, 
"in the same slate formation, though at 
different depths, sulphuretted hydrogen, car- 
buretted hydrogen, and carbonic acid gases, 
abundantly evolved." 

These two wells were supplied from the 
same vein of water, as was shown in the fact 
8* 



90 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

that when the pump of the one in the " mine- 
ral garden" was put in operation, the level of 
the water in the other well was soon reduced, 
and it was at length rendered entirely value- 
less. Dr. Beck thinks that it would not be 
at all surprising if carbonated water were 
found, by boring, at any spot on the range 
from Albany to Saratoga. 

The temperature of the Albany water is 
51° to 52° F. Its specific gravity at the tem- 
perature of 60° F. is 1.00900. An analy- 
sis of one pint of the water, made by Dr. 
Beck, gave the following results: — 

Grains. 

Chloride of sodium . . . . .59.00 

Carbonate of soda . . . . .5.00 
Carbonate of lime . . . 4.00 

Carbonate of magnesia . . . .1.50 

Carbonate of iron (with a little silica) . 1.00 

Chloride of calcium . . . .0.50 

71.00 
Gaseous contents, 28.00 cubic inches. 

Dr. Mead,* in his analysis, makes the solid 
contents 75 grains, by his finding 4 grains 
more of the chloride of sodium, and 0.50 of 



* Am. Journ. of Science, xiii. 145. 



keed's and halleck's springs. 91 

carbonate of magnesia, than Dr. Beck, while 
he failed to detect chloride of calcium. 

This water is nearly as rich in saline con- 
tents as the Congress at Saratoga. 

Reed's Mineral Spring, in South Argyle, 
near the Moses Kill, in "Washington County, 
is another acidulous spring, somewhat re- 
sembling the Saratoga water, but containing 
less gas. Its taste is distinctly acidulous, 
but it does not sparkle. 

Hallectts Spring, near the village of Hamp- 
ton, in Oneida County, was opened by 
boring into a solid rock to the depth of a 
hundred and six feet. One pint, on analysis, 
by Professor Noyes, formerly of Hamilton 
College, showed the following constituents: — 

Grains. 

Chloride of sodium 78.00 

Chloride of calcium 13.00 

Chloride of magnesia 4.00 

Sulphate of lime 5.00 



100.00 



" The spring evolves carburetted hydrogen 
in considerable quantities, together with a 
minute proportion of carbonic acid. The 
composition of the water is quite similar to 



92 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

that of the weak brine springs, to which it, 
perhaps, more properly belongs." 

We have not heard, for some time past, of 
the spring in Clifton Street, in the city of 
New York, the water of which was said, 
when first procured, to resemble closely that 
of the Congress Spring. Its composition 
was found to be more complex than that of 
any other found in the State, but its solid 
contents in a pint are only 18.74 grains, and 
its gaseous proportions, carbonic acid and 
atmospheric air, 8.14 cubic inches. 

Chalybeate Springs. — A strong and co- 
pious chalybeate spring is found about a mile 
west of the village of Sandlake, in Eensselaer 
county. It issues from gravel. 

Near Catskill, in Greene County, there is 
another strong chalybeate spring. Several 
of the same kind are found in the counties 
of Dutchess, Columbia, and Delaware. 



SULPHUREOUS SPRINGS OF NEW YORK. 93 



CHAPTEE VI. 

Sulphureous Springs of New York — Are numerous — 
Sharon — Avon — Their medicinal effects — Various dis- 
eases in which useful — Quantity to be drunk. 

There is scarcely a single county in the 
State in which springs of this class, impreg- 
nated with sulphuretted hydrogen, are not 
found; and in the fourth district, we are told 
by Mr. Hall, who made a geological survey 
of it, that in almost every rock these springs 
occur. Those which are abundant in water 
and highly charged with the gas are, how- 
ever, few in number. They contain, besides 
sulphuretted hydrogen and carbonic acid, car- 
bonate and sulphate of lime, which are depo- 
sited upon the twigs and stones over which 
the water flows. 

Springs of this nature, Mr. Hall remarks, 
which issue from different rocks, have an 
aspect and general character which indicate 
their relative geological positions. In the 



94 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

strata of the Niagara group, the water has 
usually a dark appearance in the spring, 
though it is limpid and differs essentially 
from the waters of the salt group, while in 
higher rocks it is not only less copious, but 
it is often marked by a black and red deposit, 
as well as sometimes a whitish stain upon 
the rock, or at the bottom of the spring. 
The flow of water is feebler, and it is less 
strongly impregnated with gas. A tempera- 
ture above that of the common springs was 
noticed in all the sulphureous ones in widely 
different positions, indicating a common 
cause. With the exception of the Sharon 
Springs, all the other sulphureous ones in 
Western New York, in the first district of 
geological survey, are situated in or near 
lines of fracture, or of great disturbance in 
the strata by some subterranean force. 

Among the sulphureous springs of New 
York, those of Sharon and of Avon take 
precedence. 

SHARON SPRINGS. 

These springs are near the village of Lees- 
ville, in the town of Sharon, Schoharie 



SHARON SPRINGS. 95 

Comity. They rise at the junction of the 
water-lime and Onondaga salt groups, and, 
as described by Dr. Beck, from the pyritous 
slates lying under the Helderberg limestone 
series. The two chief ones are called the 
White Sulphur ■, and the Magnesia. The wa- 
ter of the first, on flowing over vegetable or 
other substances, leaves a deposit of sulphur 
on them. So tenacious is it of its distinctive 
characters, that it preserves them while flow- 
ing with common water for a quarter of a 
mile, after which it falls perpendicularly over 
a ledge of rocks sixty feet, with a volume 
sufficient to turn a grist-mill. 

A large and well kept hotel has been 
erected on the hill above the Springs, from 
which an extensive and picturesque view of 
the surrounding country is obtained. 

Visitors can enjoy themselves, during a 
portion of every day, in strolling along plea- 
sant and shaded walks through extensive 
woods contiguous to the Springs. 

Sharon is reached from the north and the 
east by way of Albany, where travellers take 
the cars on the Albany and Binghampton 



96 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

Kailroad to Palatine Bridge; and tlien stages 
over the mountain to the Springs. Travel- 
lers from Philadelphia and the South and the 
"West can either go to New York and follow 
the route just designated, or take another, on 
the junction railroads from Philadelphia by 
way of Tamaqua, Danville, Williamsport, 
Elmira and Binghampton to the Palatine 
Bridge. The better plan, perhaps, will be to 
go to Sharon by way of Albany, and return 
on the junction railroad via Williamsport to 
Philadelphia, so as, in both going and com- 
ing, to pass over the mountain by daylight. 

One pint of the water of the Sulphur 
Spring, analyzed by Dr. J. E. Chilton, of 
New York, yielded the following ingredi- 
ents: — 

Grains. 

Sulphate of magnesia . . . . 2.65 

Sulphate of lime 6.98 

Chloride of sodium . . . . . 0.14 

Chloride of maguesia . . . . 0.15 



Hydrosulphuret of sodium *) 



0.H 



Hydrosulphuret of calcium 

10.06 
Sulphuretted hydrogen gas, 1 cubic inch. 



MAGNESIA SPEING. 97 

" It is worthy of remark," adds Dr. Beck, 
u as perhaps throwing some light upon the 
origin of this water, that sulphate of lime, in 
small but perfect crystals, is found near the 
spring, in considerable abundance." 

The solid contents of a gallon of this 
water, as determined by the same chemist, 
are 160.94 grains, and the amount of sul- 
phuretted hydrogen gas 16 inches. These re- 
sults, as reported by Dr. North,* are at vari- 
ance with the preceding table of reduction to 
a pint, made by Dr. Beck, still from Dr. Chil- 
ton's analysis. 

The Magnesia Spring contains, according to 
Professor Lawrence Eeed, of New York, the 
following ingredients, in a gallon of the 
water : — 



Bicarbonate of magnesia . 
Sulphate of magnesia 
Sulphate of lime .... 
Hydrosulphates of magnesia and lime 
Chloride of sodium and magnesium . 



30.5 

22.7 

76.0 

0.5 

3.0 

132.7 



Sulphuretted hydrogen, 3.3 cubic inches. 

The medicinal virtues of the Sharon waters 
* Op. cit. 



98 MINERAL AXD THERMAL SPRINGS. 

will be noticed after a description of those 
which follow. 

AVON SPRINGS. 

Dr. S. Salisbury speaks of the town of 
Avon, near to which are the springs, as one 
of the most beautiful as well as productive 
in the State of New York. It is on the east- 
ern branch of the Genesee River, in Livings- 
ton County, eighteen miles from Rochester, 
and twenty-four miles from Canandaigua. 
"The village of Avon is eligibly situated 
about one mile from the river, having an 
elevated position upon the table land, and 
commanding a prospect of the flats, for an 
extent of many miles. The mineral springs 
are between the village and the river, in the 
valley below."* 

Stages leave Rochester daily for the Springs ; 
and packet boats, which run on the Genesee 
Valley Canal, also land passengers within ten 
miles of the Springs; from wdiich point they 
are carried in coaches to the desired spot. 

* A Descriptive, Historical, Chemical, and Therapeu- 
tical Analysis of the Avon Sulphur Springs, Livingston 
Co., New York. 



AVON SPRINGS. 99 

These springs were long known to the In- 
dians, who resorted to them for the cure of 
diseases of the skin, and even now a few of 
this unfortunate race are still seen to visit 
some of their old haunts. In the year 1792, 
one of the inhabitants of the district used 
the waters with perfect success in the cure of 
a disease of the skin, following intermittent 
fever; and in 1795, a cure of rheumatism of 
long standing, which had resisted the treat- 
ment of a number of intelligent physicians, 
was speedily and entirely cured by their use. 
The first approach to anything like accom- 
modations for visitors was in the erection, at 
the lower spring, of a small building, with a 
showering box as it was then not inappropri- 
ately called. There are now three hotels in 
the immediate neighborhood of the springs 
and two in the village: a connection between 
them is kept up by omnibuses. 

Three of the springs of Avon differ but 
little from each other in their chemical com- 
position. Until the year 1835 there were but 
two springs known, and they were distin- 
guished as the Upper and Lower. In that 



100 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

year a third, called the New Bath Spring, 
was discovered. It is spoken of by Dr. Beck 
as the first spring. Its depth is about thirty- 
six feet, and the formation through which the 
water rises is the calciferous slate, similar to 
that found at Rochester. The temperature 
is about 50° F., and its specific gravity 
1.00356. 

One pint of the water of the Avon New 
Spring contains 

Grains. 
Carbonate of lime . . . . .3.37 

Sulphate of lime 0.44 

Sulphate of magnesia . . . . .1.01 
Sulphate of soda . . -. . . 4.84 
Chloride of sodium 0.71 

10.37 
Sulphuretted hydrogen, 3.91 cubic inches. 

The Middle Spring, as the Upper is now 
called, in reference to the relative situation 
of the three springs, is situated about thirty 
rods from the New. Its temperature is 
51° F. Its composition, taking a pint as the 
measure of the quantity of the water, is, ac- 
cording to Professor Hadley, as follows: — 



THE LOWER AVO^ SPRING. 101 





Grains. 


Carbonate of lime 


. 1.00 


Sulphate of lime 


. 10.50 


Sulphate of magnesia . 


. 1.25 


Sulphate of soda 


. 2.00 


Chloride of sodium 


. 2.30 




17.05 




Cubic Inches 


Sulphuretted hydrogen 


. 12.00 


Carbonic acid 


. 5.60 



Gaseous contents 17.60 

The Third or Lower Spring, in its original 
state, formed, as we learn from Dr. Salisbury, 
a large pool of perhaps fifty feet in diameter, 
in which the earlier inhabitants were in the 
habit of bathing. It was the one first made 
use of, and, either from its less disagreeable 
taste or less nauseating qualities, it has 
always been more resorted to than the rest, 
and has been found to be generally more 
effective as a curative agent. The smaller 
proportion of hydrosulphuric acicl, or sul- 
phuretted hydrogen gas, contained in this 
water than in that of the other springs, makes 
it less liable to produce nausea and vertigo, 
and some degree of oppression to which they 
occasionally give rise. 
9* 



102 MIXERAL AND THER31AL SPRINGS. 



The water issues from a fissure in a rock, 
thirty-six feet below the surface of the 
ground, about one hundred rods from the 
Genesee Eiver, and about thirty rods from 
the Conesus Creek. The volume of water 
discharged from the spring is great, being 
estimated at fifty -four gallons in a minute; 
and it is the same at all seasons of the year. 
The temperature is 45° to 47° F. Specific 
gravity 1.0018. It is limpid, transparent, 
and somewhat sparkling. Its taste is de- 
cidedly sulphureous, and at the same time 
bitter and saline. An analysis by Dr. J. E. 
Chilton gave, in a pint — 





Grains. 


Carbonate of lime 


. 3.58 


Chloride of calcium 


. 1.05 


Sulphate of lime 


. 7.17 


Sulphate of magnesia . 


. 6.21 


Sulphate of soda 


. 1.71 



19.72 

Cubic Inches. 

The gaseous contents were, of sulphuretted hydrogen 1.32 

. Carbonic acid . . 0.50 

Nitrogen . . .0.67 

And a minute fraction of atmospheric air. 

The water of the Lower Spring is, it will 
have been seen, somewhat richer in saline 



IODINE OR SYLVAN SPRINGS. 



103 



contents, and has less sulphuretted hydrogen 
than that of the Middle, formerly the Upper 
Spring. 

Iodine or Sylvan Springs. — About two miles 
south of the Lower Spring, we meet with 
this group, three in number, of one of which 
we have an analysis. The three are distin- 
guishable from the ones already described 
by their saltish taste, which is owing to the 
predominance of the chloride of sodium. 
One has but a slight sulphureous impregna- 
tion, and in taste resembles the Saratoga 
water, after exposure of this latter to the air 
and the escape of its carbonic acid. The 
other contains iodide of sodium together with 
a large proportion of chloride of sodium. An 
analysis of a gallon of the water gave, ac- 
cording to Dr. J. E. Chilton — 



Chloride of magnesium 








Grains. 
62.400 


Chloride of sodium 








97.440 


Sulphate of lime 








80.426 


Sulphate of magnesia 








12.960 


Carbonate of lime 








26.800 


Carbonate of magnesia 








15.974 


Vegetable matter 








.240 


Iodide of sodium 











296.240 



104 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

Cubic Inches. 
Sulphuretted hydrogen .... 20.684 
Carbonic acid 4.992 



25.676 



Medicinal Effects of the Sharon and Avon 
Waters. — Although the Avon is stronger in 
sulphureous impregnation than the Sharon 
Springs, we may with propriety look on them 
both as possessing nearly the same therapeu- 
tical value, and, in fact, as resembling in this 
respect other waters of their class, both in 
New York and in Virginia. What has been 
said of the stimulating effects of mineral 
waters in general, is particularly applicable 
to the sulphureous. These latter excite the 
gastro-intestinal mucous membrane, and, ac- 
cording as they are more or less digested, 
they will produce either increase of appetite 
or the reverse state; either constipation or 
diarrhoea. When they do not immediately 
act as purgatives, they quicken the pulse, 
give rise to a feeling of internal heat, and to 
sleeplessness and restlessness, a state of ex- 
citement compared by Bordeu to that pro- 
duced by coffee, and which may be carried 
to the extent of a slight intoxication. Their 



EFFECTS OF SULPHUR WATEES. 105 

operation is terminated by a copious sweat, 
and sometimes an exanthematous eruption 
or copious discharges of urine, which serve 
as crises in most chronic diseases. 

It is not easy to lay down the period in 
which these effects of sulphureous waters are 
fully obtained. The picture just drawn is by 
a French hand, and in its composition we 
must make allowance for the circumstance 
of the writer having in his mind the action 
of thermal sulphureous waters, both taken as 
a drink and used as a bath. At the same 
time it must be said, that the same general 
features are attributed to the operation of 
the cold sulphureous springs of France, 
those of Enghien for example ; and we may, 
in comparing them with observations made 
at home, admit their general accuracy. 

Coincident with this view is the opinion, 
based on large experience, that sulphureous 
waters exhibit their best curative effects, not 
only in chronic diseases, to which their use 
ought always to be restricted, but also in de- 
pressed and exhausted states of the system, in 
which it is necessary to rouse and reanimate, 
as it were, the vital energies, and to restore 



106 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

active sympathies between organs which had, 
to a certain extent, been severed. The per- 
sons who are most benefited by the use of 
these waters, are those of a lymphatic or 
phlegmatic temperament. 

In the professional as well as in the popu- 
lar creed, the use of sulphur in its various 
states — fixed and volatile, is associated with 
cutaneous affections of a chronic nature, and 
especially the varieties of psora and herpes. 
Sulphureous waters have been much lauded 
in what are vaguely called chronic diseases of 
the chest, and in which have been included, 
not only pulmonary catarrh and bronchitis, 
but also pneumonia, pleurisy, asthma and 
phthisis itself. We may simplify the sub- 
ject by fixing our attention on the chief path- 
ological element in these different diseases, 
to which our therapeutics, under the cir- 
cumstances, should be directed. This is the 
chronic irritation and inflammation of the 
bronchial mucous membrane, in which, main- 
ly if not solely, the medication by these 
waters will be found serviceable in pectoral 
diseases. By restoring or moderating when 
excessive, and otherwise modifying its secre- 



REVULSIVE OPERATION. 107 

tions, we may hope to remove simple bron- 
chitis itself, and to mitigate asthma and 
chronic pneumonia, congestion, and phthisis, 
in a certain stage of all of which diseases there 
is often symptomatic or secondary bronchitis. 
On the lungs proper, in the morbid changes 
to which they are subjected by chronic he- 
patization, or by tubercular deposit, sulphu- 
reous waters not only fail to exert any sana- 
tive or controlling influence, but they prove 
absolutely deleterious ; and in confirmed 
phthisis, and even in the incipient stage, 
when accompanied with febrile irritation, 
they accelerate the march of the disease. 

It has been contended that when these 
waters are serviceable in pectoral affections, 
their salutary effects are obtained by revul- 
sive action — determination to the skin, and 
increase of its perspiratory function, as well 
as diverting the fluids from the centre to the 
peripher} r . Such results are most likely to 
follow the use of thermal sulphureous waters, 
and still more readily and completely if they 
be employed at the same time as a bath. But 
while admitting this view, which to a conside- 
rable extent is the correct one, it ought not to 



108 3kffisERAL AXD THERMAL SPRINGS. 

be received to the exclusion of a belief in 
the directly expectorant operation of sulphu- 
reous waters. As eminently diffusible and 
reaching all membraneous tissues, so as to 
be compared to mercury itself, we cannot, 
witnessing the strong action of this remedy 
on the secretions of the skin, deny it to those 
of the mucous membrane which, lines the air 
passages. 

We may, I think, explain by these two 
functional actions of expectoration and per- 
spiration, under the use of moderate doses of 
the milder sulphur waters, the diminished 
frequency of the pulse and the abatement of 
febrile excitement, which have caused some 
of them to be regarded as sedatives, although, 
in fact, these are but secondary or indirect 
results, sequences at least of previous excite- 
ment. This order of succession of morbid 
phenomena is not unusual after the use of 
admitted stimulants in the class of purga- 
tives and diuretics, as well as when other 
diaphoretics and expectorants besides the 
sulphureous are administered. 

With the return to a qualified belief in 
humoral pathology 3 based as it now is on ex- 



CEISIS OK BATH STORM. 109 

peri mental knowledge, we can treat with re- 
spect the opinions of those European writers 
who explain many of the good effects from 
the use of sulphureous waters, both in pec- 
toral and other diseases, to their bringing 
back to their original type, and at times 
eliminating from the organism certain mor- 
bific principles or humors, such as the rheu- 
matic, the gouty, the herpetic, and the psoric. 
One proof of these remedies having accom- 
plished this end, is supposed to be in a 
" Crisis' 7 or "Bath Storm," a general stirring 
up and perturbation of all the functions, 
particularly the circulation and the secre- 
tions, and above all of those from the 
skin. A crisis will be manifested not only 
by copious sweating, but also by increased 
intestinal discharges, or by the supervention 
of exanthemata, and furuncles on the skin, 
or of abscesses under this tegument in the 
cellular tissue. 

These waters have been had recourse to 
beneficially in a weakened state of the di- 
gestive apparatus, unaccompanied by fever 
or irritation, or when there is no morbid 
heat of the skin, or dryness and redness of 
10 



110 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

the tongue. They are useful in dyspepsia, 
when the appetite is deficient, and the patient 
is troubled with heart-burn; also, in general 
debility, not maintained by inflammation or 
irritative fever; in indolent engorgements 
of the liver and other abdominal viscera, 
resulting from periodical fever; in chronic 
catarrh of the bladder, and gravel ; in chlo- 
rosis, leucorrhoea, inveterate gonorrhoea, and 
nocturnal pollutions; and in tremors, and 
paralyses caused by lead poisoning. 

Rheumatism will be benefited by the use 
of sulphureous waters in proportion to its 
chronicity and the absence of any degree of 
excitement, and probably, also, to its being 
associated with disordered digestion. It is 
under these circumstances that the use of 
the warm sulphur bath, or even a bath of 
common thermal water, will accelerate great- 
ly the cure. Other disorders from suppressed 
perspiration, such as stiffness of the limbs 
and partial dropsy, will be relieved by the 
same treatment. 

In scrofula, rickets, and swellings of the 
lymphatic glands, the administration of sul- 
phureous waters has been with many a fa- 



SULPHUREOUS WATERS IN SCROFULA. Ill 

vorite, as it certainly is a salutary, mode of 
practice. There is not only an amendment 
of the general health by these means in scro- 
fulous children, as evinced by their improved 
digestion, a soft and supple, in place of a 
tumid and resisting abdomen, and renewed 
strength ; but, also, of the ulcers and fistu- 
lous cavities which assume the appearance 
and character of common and well-condi- 
tioned sores. Even here the milder sulphur 
waters, or the stronger in small quantities, 
are to be preferred. Iodine in the form of 
ointment may be rubbed, with advantage, on 
the enlarged lymphatic glands, and applied to 
the scrofulous ulcers, during the continuance 
of the sulphureous treatment. Iron is also 
a good adjuvant in many diseases in their 
less active forms, or in an atonic state of 
the system, in which the sulphureous waters 
have been recommended. 

By French writers, the triumph, as they 
call it, of sulphureous springs, is evinced in 
the treatment of wounds, and especially of 
those caused by fire-arms. Above all, the 
waters of the thermal springs of the Pyre- 
nees have, for the last century and a half, 



112 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

been eagerly resorted to by this class of pa- 
tients, and certainly the changes in the con- 
dition of large numbers of them by this 
agency have been most surprising and even 
marvellous. They who went lame, and halt, 
and crippled, and distorted in limb and often 
in body, have come away erect, and able, not 
only to walk, but to dance and to indulge 
in gymnastic sports. Much, however, very 
much of those results are due more to the 
thermal than the sulphureous character of 
these famed springs, and to the combined use 
of their waters by drinking and by bathing. 
Our Virginia friends, and the good people 
of North Carolina and Arkansas, and the in- 
habitants of Deseret and the regions there- 
about, ought to study and ponder well on 
the diversified and admirable results in the 
cure of disease obtained by the simple ther- 
mal waters of Europe, and bestir themselves 
accordingly to fit up suitable balneatory 
establishments, with all due appliances for 
douching and illutation, or, in plainer lan- 
guage, spout and mud baths. 

Doctor Salisbury, in his sensible little 
volume on the Avon Waters, lays down 



DYSPEPSIA— FEMALE DISORDERS. 113 

with considerable accuracy the indications 
for their medicinal uses : as, for example, when 
there is a call for increasing the action of the 
organs or of the tissues, in chronic diseases 
of the liver, and in chronic rheumatism, dis- 
eases of the skin, and of the urinary pass- 
ages. "In obstinate dyspepsia attending a de- 
bilitated or depressed state of the digestive 
functions, acidity, flatulence, and heart-burn, 
in that which succeeds to acute diseases, and 
is accompanied by jaundice, frequent vomit- 
ing of mucus, pain in the right side, or in 
the region of the stomach, this remedy may 
be so administered as often to afford prompt 
and effectual relief." The writer quotes Dr. 
Frances to the same purport. I regret not 
having access to this estimable and expe- 
rienced gentleman's papers on the Avon 
Springs. Scrofula and asthma are mentioned 
by Dr. Salisbury as diseases in which the 
curative powers of these waters have been 
exerted in a marked manner. They have, 
also, he tells us, been much and beneficially em- 
ployed in chlorosis, leucorrhoea, amenorrhcea, 
and difficult and painful menstruation. In 
the sulphureous treatment of these disorders, 
10* 



114: MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

we must continually bear in mind the condi- 
tions on which alone it can be had recourse 
to, not only with benefit but without doing 
harm. It is not enough for us to know that 
females are suffering in the various ways just 
enumerated, but we must also take note of 
their temperament, freedom from an inflam- 
matory condition of any part, as well of the 
uterine as of the digestive system, and from 
chronic pulmonary disorder, such, more par- 
ticularly, as phthisis, before we venture to 
prescribe a course of these waters. In the 
early period of pregnancy, they ought either 
to be withheld entirely, or administered with 
great caution. 

As regards the quantity of the Avon 
water to be drunk in a given time, Dr. Salis- 
bury tells us that, generally speaking, four 
to six half-pint tumblerfuls, during the day, 
produce a mild cathartic effect. "In larger 
doses, they operate powerfully upon the 
bowels and kidneys." Their alterative effects 
are of course to be obtained by the moderate 
use of them, and in much smaller quantities 
than those given with a view to their cathar- 
tic operation. 



WARDING THE SULPHUR WATER. 115 

An aperient effect is more readily obtained 
by warming the sulphur water, although by 
this process it loses a portion of its sulphu- 
retted hydrogen, and if continued, the whole 
of this gas would be evolved. Certainly by 
this means it sits more easily on the stomach 
of a delicate invalid, and exerts a kindlier 
effect afterwards. In some cases of gastral- 
gia and weakened state of the stomach, with 
general debility and languid circulation, the 
cold water from the spring could not be 
borne. It is worthy of remark, in this place, 
that the most celebrated of the thermal sul- 
phureous springs of the Pyrenees do not 
contain any sulphuretted hydrogen, and the 
only gaseous constituent in some of them is 
azote. This is the case with the springs of 
Bareges, Saint Sauveur, Cauterets, Eaux 
Chaudes, and Bagneres de Luchon. Those 
of Bounes have a small proportion of sul- 
phuretted hydrogen, and of carbonic acid in 
nearly equal quantity. In all of them the 
sulphur is combined with sodium, in the state 
of a sulphuret, and on this salt depend their 
sulphureous properties. Does it exist in our 
sulphur waters? As yet it has not been ex- 



116 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

hibited in any of them by analysis. When 
speaking of the Virginia Springs, I shall 
allude to a division of sulphureous waters, 
based in part on some of them being impreg- 
nated with sulphuretted hydrogen, and others 
with the sulphuret of sodium. 

Eeverting to the dose of the Avon and 
other waters of the same nature, viewed as 
alteratives, if the general indications point to 
their use but they are found in the common 
quantity to be irritating or oppressive, we 
ought to reduce the dose to a minimum, and 
some might think inert proportion. Even 
the comparatively mild waters of Saint Sau- 
veur, which contain not a fifth of a grain of 
sulphuret of sodium in the pint, and not a 
fourth of the saline contents of those of Avon, 
are prescribed by the experienced M. Fabas, 
at first in a dose of only three or four ounces, 
gradually increased. It will be remembered, 
however, that they are thermal, or from 86° 
to 95° F. With our notions of heroic or 
energetic practice, we may feel disposed to 
smile at this which some will call a timid and 
inefficient course; but in the treatment of 
chronic disease, we must often descend from 



GRADUATED DOSES OF THE WATER. 117 

the heroics, and admit more largely into our 
calculations, as important elements, time and 
nature. While doing so, we shall be able to 
draw largely from the experience afforded by 
clinical practice at mineral springs, which 
as yet is barely begun in the United States. 

It has been observed by some of the plry- 
sicians at the Pyrenean Springs, and the re* 
mark is worthy of being remembered, that 
the exciting effects of sulphureous waters 
are most evident on persons in health, and 
especially on those of a sanguine and excita- 
ble temperament ; and that their use is much 
better borne in a state of disease. The tole- 
ration in this respect is diminished as conva- 
lescence approaches; and hence the propriety 
of gradually diminishing the quantity of the 
water to be drunk in the last period of the 
treatment, and for the reason already assign- 
ed, of increasing it in the first period. 

The external use of the Avon waters by 
bathing ought to accompany their use as a 
drink in most of the diseases to which they 
are deemed appropriate. More especially 
does this advice hold in cases of chronic 
cutaneous diseases, and of chronic rheuma- 



118 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

tism, and in those in which a revulsive action 
is desired for the relief of internal organs. 
With few exceptions, the temperature of the 
water for the bath ought to be raised by arti- 
ficial means, so as to render it tepid or warm, 
and, on rarer occasions, hot, according as 
there are cutaneous excitement and general 
irritation, or the reverse state of atony of 
the skin and general debility. The latter 
will authorize a bath of a temperature ap- 
proaching to the hot, the former one of a 
lower temperature, bringing it down to the 
tepid. 

In the absence of more precise details and 
specifications, such as we find in the little 
volilme by Dr. Salisbury on the Avon waters, 
the reader may apply what has been said of 
these latter, and of the action of the sulphure- 
ous class in general, to the use of the Sharon 
Waters, the popularity of which, on what we 
must believe to be good grounds, is growing 
from year to year. Strong testimony is borne 
in favor of the efficacy of bathing in the wa- 
ter of the White Sulphur Spring at Sharon. 

Excursions in the course of the Genesee 
River may be made by visitors to Avon, 



LAKE CONESUS. 119 

which, will afford them views of scenery of 
great variety and grandeur ; as, for instance, 
the Fails at Portage and the Upper Falls at 
Nevada. "There is a beautiful and clear 
lake, called the Conesns, about six miles 
from the springs. Three miles from its out- 
let is a cape of forest land, extending far out 
on the lake, which has been for some years 
past a favorite resort for parties of pleasure. 
The lovers of romantic scenery will pass a 
day here with delight." 



120 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Other Sulphur Springs of New York — Clifton — Chitte- 
nango — XIanlius Springs and Lake — Messina — xiuburn 
— Rochester — Verona — Saquoit — Newburgh — Al- 
bany, &c. &c. 

'Clifton Springs. — These will probably rank 
after the Avon and Sharon, as among the 
most active in the State. They are, we be- 
lieve, the same as those described by Mr. 
Hall in the eastern part of the town of Man- 
chester, Ontario County, and on the road from 
Vienna to Canandaigua. The odor of the 
gas which they give out is perceptible at the 
distance of a quarter of a mile. From one 
of the springs the quantity of water dis- 
charged is unusually large. Deposits of 
carbonate of lime and sulphur are found in 
the vicinity. All these springs, as we learn 
from Dr. Beck, as well as those which occur 
at Avon, have their origin in the hydraulic 
limestone, near its junction with the lime- 
stone above. Temperature 51° F. 



CHITTENANGO SPRINGS. 121 

Chittenango Springs. — They are situated in 
the valley of the Chittenango Creek, in the 
vicinity of the village of the same name, in 
Madison County, and issue from the hill of 
calciferous slate which here forms the eastern 
boundary of the valley. The two chief 
springs on the lands of Mr. Yates and Judge 
Warner — the first about a mile, the second 
two miles from the village — have a tempera- 
ture of 49° F., and contain, together with 
carbonates and sulphates of lime, sulphate of 
magnesia and chloride of sodium, sulphuret- 
ted hydrogen gas and carbonic acid. The 
spring of Mr. Yates has also sulphate of soda 
in solution. The water of that of Judge 
Warner, when fresh from the spring, has an 
opaline or milky appearance, which disap- 
pears on boiling. A whitish precipitate is 
found at this time. Incrustations of sulphur, 
and of carbonate and sulphate of lime are 
seen on leaves, twigs, and pieces of wood in 
the vicinity of both of these springs. 

"The waters just described," adds Dr. 
Beck, " are highly esteemed in many cases of 
disease, and their location is so eligible that 
11 



122 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

I do not doubt that, when they are better 
known, they will be much resorted to." 

Manlius Sjwings and Lake. — These and 
other sulphureous • springs of Onondaga 
County are more numerous and better known 
than those of Madison County. About a 
mile from Manlius Square are three springs 
very near to each other, all of which are 
feebly charged with sulphuretted hydrogen. 
They have also a slightly saline taste, and 
have acquired some reputation in the vicinity. 

Two miles east of Manlius Centre is a 
sulphureous lake or pool, known by the name 
of Lake Sodom or Green Pond. It is about 
a mile and a half in length, and half a mile 
in breadth at the widest part. The depth 
gradually increases ; as we proceed from the 
northern outlet, from twenty-five to a hun- 
dred and*sixty-eight feet, at what is probably 
the centre of the basin. Water drawn from 
this depth Avas found to be highly charged 
with sulphuretted hydrogen. It is of a deep 
green color, which Dr. Beck, to whom I am 
indebted for the entire description of this 
water, suggests is probably owing to the 
partial decomposition of the sulphuretted 



MESSINA SULPHUR SPRINGS. 123 

hydrogen. Its specific gravity' is scarcely 
above that of common water. 

Sulphuretted hydrogen gas is evolved in 
great quantities in the immediate vicinity of 
the Salt Springs at Salina and Syracuse. 
A spring on the grounds of Mr. E. F. Wal- 
lace, of Syracuse furnishes a sulphureo-saline 
water, in one pint of which there are 132 
grains of chloride of sodium. Its gaseous 
contents are sulphuretted hydrogen and car- 
bonic acid. Another spring of a similar 
character, a mile distant, is found in the 
marsh near the Salina "Well. 

Messina Sulphur Springs. — They are situ- 
ated in a ravine near to that in which are 
found the springs of Manlius and Chittenango, 
three miles northeast of Syracuse, and a mile 
north of the Brie Canal. They rise through 
a limestone formation, on the surface of which 
are everywhere found masses of calcareous 
tufa. The temperature is uniformly 50° F. 
The water has a strong sulphureous taste, but 
is not so highly charged with sulphuretted 
hydrogen as that of some other springs. It 
is used with good effect in many diseases. 
Its composition in a pint is as follows: — 



124 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

Grains. 

Carbonate of lime 1.85 

Sulphate of lime . . . . .8.55 

• Sulphate of magnesia . . . . .1.86 

Chloride of calcium . . . . .1.33 

13.09 

It lias been remarked by Dr. Beck that 
the number of springs of this class increases 
as we go westwardly in the State. 

Auburn Springs. — One of these is in the 
town of Sennett, two miles north of the vil- 
lage of Auburn, in Cayuga County. Another, 
which has acquired some reputation, is situ- 
ated about four miles west of Auburn, on the 
farm of Mr. Nelson Van Ness. It is called 
the West Auburn Spring. An analysis by 
Dr. Chilton exhibits the following substances 
in a pint of the water : — 

Grains. 

Sulphate of lime 15.00 

Sulphate of magnesia 3.20 

Chloride of magnesium . . . .0.25 
Chloride of sodium 0.75 

19.20 
Sulphuretted hydrogen gas 1.5 cubic inches. 

At Spring Mills, on the eastern shore of 
Cayuga Lake, a sulphureous water is said to 



ROCHESTER SPRING. 125 

issue from the earth in quantities sufficient 
to turn a grist-mill. It is perfectly limpid, 
and has a strong taste and smell of sulphu- 
retted hydrogen. 

Rochester Spring. — In the city of Kochester, 
on the east bank of the Genesee, is Long- 
muir's sulphur spring, the waters of which 
are much employed by the inhabitants. It 
rises through a boring of two hundred feet in 
depth. Its temperature is usually 52° F., 
affording an instance of the increase of tem- 
perature of the earth as we descend beneath 
the surface. When heated to 100° F., it de- 
posits sulphur and carbonate of lime. Its 
specific gravity is 1.00407. One pint of the 
water contains — 

Grains. 
Carbonate of lime and magnesia with a trace 

of iron 1.48 

Chloride of sodium 6.52 

Sulphate of soda 6.99 

14.99 

Gaseous contents: sulphuretted hydrogen, 
2.16 cubic inches, with a small quantity of 
carbonic acid. 

In proof of the copious evolution of sul- 
11* 



126 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

phuretted hydrogen in this district, Dr. Beck 
mentions the fact, in reference to the Caledo- 
nia Springs in the town of Wheatland, that 
the whole of a large volume of water which 
gushes out of the earth, so as to form a stream 
nearly one-quarter of the size of the Genesee 
Eiver at Eochester, is slightly impregnated 
with this gas. 

In this county (Monroe) we meet also with 
the sulphureous springs of Mendon, Gates, 
and Pittsford, at all of which, as well as 
those of Eochester, there are bathing-houses 
and ample accommodations for visitors. 
More abundant in sulphuretted hydrogen 
than any other in the county, is a spring 
at the village of Ogden, in the township of 
the same name, one and a half miles south of 
Spencer's Basin. 

Verona Spring. — This spring is 14 miles 
from Utica, in Oneida County. Its water, as 
analyzed by Professor Noyes, gave the fol- 
lowing constituents in a pint: — 

Grains. 
Chloride of calcium, with chloride of magne- 
sium 8.50 . 

Sulphate of lime 7.50 

Chloride of sodium 90.00 

106.00 



SAQUOIT SULPHUR SPRINGS. 127 

The water is supposed to be nearly satu- 
rated with, sulphuretted hydrogen gas. 

Saquoit Springs. — The water of these 
springs, nine and a half miles south of Utica, 
is highly charged with sulphuretted and car- 
buretted hydrogen, and contains the chlorides 
of sodium and magnesium in considerable 
quantities, together with a little sulphate of 
lime and a trace of iron. The gas rises from 
the water in such abundance as to allow of 
its being conducted through tubes, and to be 
kept continually burning. 

Sulphur Springs of Niagara County. — This 
county is no less abundantly supplied with 
sulphur springs than those which have been 
already noticed. Among them may be men- 
tioned those in the town of Pendleton, near 
the canal, at Lockport, two miles from Tona- 
wanda ; in the vicinity of Lewistown, and of 
the Falls of Niagara. 

Seneca or Deer Lick Springs are about four 
miles from Buffalo (Erie County), and issue 
from opposite sides of the stream on which 
they are situated. They give out sulphuretted 
hydrogen largely, and contain of saline sub- 
stances, carbonates of lime, magnesia, and 



128 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

soda, together with sulphate of lime in nota- 
ble quantities. 

There is an acid spring on Grand Island. 

Sulphur springs are also found in Northern 
New York r in the counties of Clinton, St. 
Lawrence, and Lewis. 

In the Valley of the Hudson, beginning at 
the southern part of the State, sulphureous 
springs are found at short intervals from 
near Sing Sing, in Westchester County, to 
Fort Miller, in Washington County, a dis- 
tance of nearly a hundred and fifty miles. 
They occur on both sides of the Hudson, and 
usually rise through the strata of glazed 
black slate which is found throughout nearly 
the whole of this extent. Of these springs, 
we may mention, after Dr. Beck, the Chap- 
pequa Spring, four miles northeast of Sing- 
Sing, which issues from a cleft in the rock 
near the base of a hill, about two hundred 
feet in height. The salts held in solution 
are said to be the sulphate of lime, chloride 
of calcium, and the muriate of iron and man- 
ganese. 

Harrow gate Springs, near the village of 



SPRINGS IN THE HUDSON VALLEY. 129 

Greenbush, and a spring near the north end 
of the city of Troy, are in Eensselaer County. 

The sulphureous springs of Saratoga 
County have been already mentioned. 

Newburgh Spring is in Orange County. 
In Albany County, also, there are several 
springs of this class; one of them in Wen- 
dell's Hollow, near the city of Albany. 

In Dutchess County is a sulphur spring near 
Ameniaville; and there are several in Co- 
lumbia, one of which is on McNaughton's 
farm, between Lebanon Springs and the 
Shaker Village ; and another near Kinder- 
hook. 

Catshill Spring. — This sulphureous water 
rises within two miles of the village of Cats- 
kill, Greene County. There are several others 
in the same county. 

In the southwestern counties we have to re- 
cord the existence of numerous sulphureous 
springs. 

The Nanticoke Spring, in Broome County, 
was formerly in considerable repute. 

Dryden Springs, in the town of the same 
name, and ten miles east of Ithaca, in Tomp- 
kin's County, have acquired some celebrity. 



130 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

The counties of Chenango, Tioga, Stephen, 
and Cattaraugus have their sulphur springs. 

In Chautauque County, sulphur springs are 
of frequent occurrence, and, as stated by Dr. 
Beck, they have apparently some connection 
with the issues of carburetted hydrogen gas, 
for which this county has become so cele- 
brated. Sulphureous springs are found at 
Fredonia, and on the shore of Lake Erie 
about a mile east of Van Buren Harbor. 



ACID SPKItfGS. 131 



CHAPTEE VIII. 

Acid Springs, called also Alum Springs — Byron Acid or 
Sour Springs — Oak Orchard Acid Springs — Their com- 
position — Diseases in which used — Acid Springs in 
South America — Nitrogen and Thermal Spring of 
Lebanon — Brines, or Salt Springs — Gas Springs. 

ACID SPKINGS. 

These springs are thus designated on ac- 
count of the excess of sulphuric acid in their 
waters, which is perceptible both to the taste 
and by reagents. They also contain, in con- 
siderable proportions, sulphates of alumina 
and of iron, and hence we shall find them de- 
signated as alum springs; and they might, 
also, with propriety, be ranked under the 
head of chalyleate. They are found chiefly 
in New York and in Virginia. I shall no- 
tice, now, those of the first mentioned State ; 
and, as in the case of the sulphureous springs, 
draw largely from Dr. Beck's oft quoted 
volume, " Mineralogy of New York. 11 

Byron Acid or Sour Springs. — There are 



132 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

two acid springs in the town of Byron, Gene- 
see County. The first is in the southwest 
corner of the town, and rises from a hillock 
about two hundred and thirty feet long and 
one hundred feet broad, elevated four or 
five feet above the surrounding plain. Ac- 
cording to Professor Eaton, the strength of 
the acid increases in a drought. Wherever 
holes were sunk in the hill, the acid accumu- 
lated, and also in the depressions of the con- 
tiguous meadow-grounds. 

There is another acid spring, a hundred 
rods west of Byron Hotel and two miles 
east of the former, which is remarkable in 
consequence of the great quantity of acid 
contained in its water. This spring issues 
from the earth in sufficient quantity to turn 
a grist-mill. There is said to be several 
other acid or sour springs in this vicinity. 

The acid liquid is described by Dr. Beck 
to be transparent and colorless, and to have 
a specific gravity of 1.11304 at 60° F. It 
reddens litmus powerfully, and has an in- 
tensely sour taste. The lime and oxide of 
iron indicated by tests, are in very small pro- 
portion, as is evident from the fact that, when 



OAK ORCHARD SPRINGS. 133 

the liquid is evaporated, only a trifling resi- 
duum is left. " It is a nearly pure, though, 
dilute sulphuric acid, and not a solution of 
acid salts, as has been supposed ; for the bases 
are in too minute a proportion to warrant the 
latter opinion. 

" The brownish matter, or acid earth, is 
principally vegetable matter, charred by the 
action of the acid ; but it also contains some 
silica and alumina, with a minute quantity of 
lime and oxide of iron. When this matter is 
boiled in water, a solution is obtained which 
possesses all the properties of the liquor just 
described." 

Acid springs or wells are also found in the 
town of Bergen, in this county. 

Oak Orchard Acid Springs. — Within a few 
years past, attention has been directed to these 
springs, eight in number, which are eight 
miles southeast from Lockport, in Genesee 
County, and six and a half miles from the vil- 
lage of Medina, on the Erie Canal. Analyses 
by Dr. Chilton and Professor Emmons, show 
them to be not only acid, but, also, saline 
waters of great therapeutic value. 

The following ingredients were found in a 
12 



134 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 



gallon of the water, by Dr. Chilton's analy- 



sis: — 

Free sulphuric acid 
Sulphate of lime . 
Protosulphate of iron 
Sulphate of alumina 
Sulphate of magnesia 
Silica . 
Organic extractive matter 



Grains. 

82.96 
39.60 
14.32 
9.68 
8.28 
1.04 
3.28 



159.16 



Equal to about 20 grains in a pint 

The analysis of Spring No. 1, by Professor 
Emmons, gave a much larger proportion of 
the above constituents. In one pint of the 
water he found of — 

Grain?. 

31.50 



Free sulphuric acid 
Sulphate of protoxide of iron 
Sulphate of lime . 
Sulphate of magnesia . 

Silica 

Organic matter . 



19.50 
4.50 
2.00 
0.33 
1.33 



Equal to 473.28 grs. in a gallon . . .59.16 

Spring No. 2 had but 24.25 grains of free 
acid and of saline contents in the pint, and 
No. 3 only 19.33 grains. Differences in the 
strength of the several springs will depend 
on the volume of water which passes through 



EFFECTS OF THE ACID WATERS. 135 

the bed or rock in which the acid and salts 
are found ; and differences observable in the 
strength of the same water at different times 
are explained by the different amounts of 
meteoric water which percolates through the 
bed or rock at different times, according as 
there has been light or heavy rains. 

Medicinally considered, these acid waters, 
as might be inferred from their composition, 
have a powerful astringent and tonic effect 
in debilitated states of the general system, 
and in enfeebled function of different or- 
gans, especially of the digestive and uterine 
accompanied with perverted secretions and 
exhausting discharges, as in pyrosis, gastro- 
dynia, chronic diarrhcea, and chronic dysen- 
tery and leucorrhcea: also, in chronic affec- 
tions of the kidneys and bladder. To this list, 
Dr. S. P. White, in a paper read before the 
New York Academy of Medicine (December 
6, 18-iS), on these springs, adds diabetes, pas- 
sive hemorrhage, such as purpura hmmorrha- 
cjica, some of the cutaneous diseases, and the 
colliquative sweats of hectic fever. He thinks 
it is entitled to consideration, also, in the 
phosphatic diathesis, accompanied by deposits 



136 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

of the phosphates, and in colica pictonum and 
asthma, as well as in chronic pharyngitis and 
laryngitis, and chronic conjunctivitis. Dr. 
Spring found it to give entire relief in a case 
of diarrhoea of three years' duration. 

The dose recommended by Dr. White, is 
about a third of a wineglassful, diluted with 
simple water, three times a day. Locally, it 
is applied with advantage to chronic ulcers 
of the skin and throat, and in indolent cuta- 
neous eruptions, as also in chronic conjunc- 
tivitis, and discharges from the ear. 

There is an acid spring at Clifton Springs, 
twelve miles northwest of Geneva. 

The traveller in New Grenada sees not only 
a spring, but a stream of some magnitude, 
largely impregnated with sulphuric acid. 
It is called, on account of its sourness, Rio 
Vinaigro, and also Passambio. Its mineral 
impregnation is slight, for of all the sub- 
stances held in solution by the water, equal 
only to 2.87 parts in 1,000, the sulphuric 
acid amounted to 1.11, and the hydrochloric 
or muriatic 0.91 = 2.02, leaving only 0.85 of 
solid contents. In the smallness of these 
latter, this water seems to resemble that of 



SPRING OF PARAMO DE RUIZ. 137 

Byron. Not so, however, in reference to 
its acid, the quantity of which, delivered in 
twenty-four hours, is 38.611 kilogrammes, 
or 84,750 pounds avoirdupois in 34,784,640 
cubic metres of water. 

Even more remarkable than the one just 
described is the mineral acid spring of Pa- 
ramo de Ruiz, in New Grenada, which issues 
with an abundant supply of water at an ele- 
vation of 3,800 metres, or about 12,450 feet 
above the ocean, where the Gruali, a tributary 
of the Eio Grande de la Magdalena, takes its 
origin. Boussingault thinks it probable that 
this spring comes from trachyte. Its water 
is thermal, having a temperature of 157° F. 
Euiz is an active volcano. The water ana- 
lyzed by M. Levy gave, in 1,000 parts — 

Grains. 

Sulphuric acid 5.181 "I 60g9 

Hydrochloric acid . . . 0.881 / 

Alumen 0.500 

Lime 0.140 

Soda 0.360 

Silica 0.183 

Magnesia 0.320 

Oxide of iron 0.365 

7.930 

12* 



138 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

We see the same basic substances here as 
those in the Oak Orchard Springs, with the 
difference of soda, which is wanting in the 
latter. 

The spring of Eio Vinaigro originates 
from the volcano of Purace. The coldness 
of its water is owing, Boussingault thinks, 
to the melted snow mixing in its downward 
course with the acid springs of volcanic 
origin. Acid springs are not confined to 
the volcanoes of Euiz and Purace. Five 
cascades of strongly acidulated water were 
seen by the traveller just named, near the 
Indian village of Genoi, when he was as- 
cending the crater of Pasto. 

Acid springs issue at nearly the same ele- 
vation as that in which the best kinds of 
cinchona grow, and in the same neighbor- 
hood. Here, then, at a comparatively mode- 
rate expense, the manufacture of sulphate of 
quinine might be carried on. 

LEBANON SPRING. 

This is ranked, on the score of tempera- 
ture, among the thermal springs, and of 
gaseous impregnation, among the nitrogen 



LEBANON SPRING. 139 

ones. The water is constantly at 73° F., 
while that of the other springs in the county 
(Columbia) is 52° F. Its saline impregnation 
is very slight, being only a grain and a 
quarter in the pint. The temperature is 
such as to render the Lebanon water a de- 
lightful bath. So copious is the supply that 
not only is there an abundance for all the 
baths ; but there is also enough to turn two 
or three mills, erected within a short distance. 
These are kept running during even the 
severity of the winter. 

The water of Lebanon taken as a drink, 
will be found serviceable in irritable dyspep- 
sia and in gouty habits, and in the thirst 
accompanying slow and hectic fever. As a 
bath it may be used under similar circum- 
stances, and also in chronic rheumatism. 
The delicate and the feeble whose powers of 
reaction are slight, would, by bathing in the 
Lebanon waters for a time, be prepared for 
the greater depression and shock from sea- 
bathing. 

I must not close this notice of the mineral 
springs of New York, without adverting to 
the numerous, and, in a measure, celebrated 



140 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

brine or salt springs of that State. The chief 
ones are those of Onondaga County, and of 
Montezuma, in Cayuga County. 

Great uniformity prevails in the chemical 
composition of the waters of these different 
springs. All those, continues Dr. Beck, 
"which have been subjected to an analysis 
contain, although in somewhat various pro- 
portions, the chlorides of calcium and mag- 
nesium, in combination with the common 
salt. All of them, moreover, when freshly 
drawn, give the characteristic tests of iron, 
which exists in minute proportions in the 
form of carbonate ; or, perhaps, in some cases, 
the oxide of iron may perform the part of an 
acid, which, by combining with lime, may 
thus exist in the form of ferrate of lime. 
Bromine is also known to be one of the con- 
stituents of the Salina brine, and it will pro- 
bably be found in most of the others ; but 
iodine has not yet been detected in any of 
them." 

An important part of the revenue of the 
State is derived from the springs of Onondaga 
County, viz : the Salina and the Syracuse 
Wells, and the Liverpool Well. 



CARBURETTED HYDROGEN SPRINGS. 141 

Nitrogen springs are found at Hosick, 
Eensselaer County ; at Canoga, in Seneca, 
and at Chateauguay, in Franklin. 

Among the curiosities of springs in New 
York, we may mention those in which car- 
buretted hydrogen gas is given out. In some 
places, as at the village of Fredonia, in Chau- 
tauque County, it is turned to economic ac- 
count by being used for lighting the streets 
and houses. A sufficient supply of gas was 
collected at this place, in a gasometer, to feed 
seventy to eighty lights. Similar emana- 
tions occur in Albany, Oneida, Yates, Mon- 
roe, and Niagara counties. 



142 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 



CHAPTEE IX. 

Springs of Maine : Saline ones of Lubec — Chalybeate 
ones of Dexter. Springs of Vermont: Highgate — 
Newberry — Albnrgh — Bennington — Clarendon. — 
Springs of Massachusetts: Berkshire — Hopkinton. — 
Springs of New Jersey: Schooley's Mountain — Its 
situation — Composition and virtues of the waters. 

In the State of Maine, the chief mineral 
springs are: — 

The Saline Spring of Lubec. It bursts out 
from the soil near the junction of the red 
sandstone and blue limestone rocks, on the 
bank of a creek near the head of Lubec Bay. 
The water is clear and colorless. Specific 
gravity 1.025. An imperial gallon evapo- 
rated to dryness gave, as a residuum, 322.5 
grains of saline matter. 100 grains of this 
dry salt gave, on analysis, in a pint of 
water: — 



SPRINGS OF VERMONT. 



143 





Grains. Grains. 


Chloride of sodium . 


. 64.0 199.000 


Sulphate of lime 


. 8.6 11.210 


Chloride of magnesium 


. 20.2 62.815 


Sulphate of soda 


. 9.0 27.985 


Carbonate of iron . 


. 0.8 2.490 


Carbonate of lime . 


. 2.0 6.250 


Chloride of calcium 


a trace 12.720 loss 


Carbonic acid gas 






99.6 822.500 




4 loss. 



100.0 



Dr. Charles T. Jackson, who gave these 
particulars respecting the Lubec Saline 
Spring, in his First Report on the Geology of 
Maine, does not add anything on the subject 
of its curative powers. 

Dexter Chalybeate Spring. — This spring is 
situated on the eastern head branch of the 
Sebasticook stream. It deposits largely "an 
ochreous yellow oxide of iron." Dr. Jackson 
describes the water as a good tonic in vari- 
ous disorders of the digestive system. 



SULPHUREOUS SPRINGS OF VERMONT. 

Among these we may enumerate the 
Highgate Springs, within twelve miles of the 
steamboat landing at St. Alban's Bay ; also 



144: MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

the Newburg Sulphureous Spring, which is 
twenty-seven miles east of Montpelier, and 
forty-seven northeast of Windsor. It is by 
the side of Harriman's Brook, about fifty 
rods north of the meeting-house, and it is a 
place of considerable resort for invalids. The 
water is strongly impregnated with sulphu- 
retted hydrogen gas. It is extolled in scro- 
fulous and cutaneous diseases. A good 
shower-house and baths are constructed near 
the spring, and every accommodation is pro- 
vided at the hotel, which can be desired by 
the visitor. Springs of the same kind are 
found in several other places in the township. 

The springs of Alburgh'are of the same 
nature as those just described. 

Bennington Thermal Spring. — It is thus 
designated by Professor Hitchcock, who does 
not, however, give its temperature. It emits 
both nitrogen and oxygen gases. The water 
is abundant enough to turn the machinery 
of a powder mill. 

Clarendon Gaseous Springs. — This water will 
rank with others of the milder acidulous class. 
In the small proportion of saline ingredients, 
but one in ten thousand parts of the water, it 



CLAEENDON SPRINGS. 145 

is among the purest known. Its gaseous 
contents are more copious, and impart to it 
whatever peculiarity it possesses. In a no- 
tice of this spring, written by Dr. Gallup, we 
learn, from an analysis by Dr. Hayes, that a 
United States gallon of 235 cubic inches con- 
tained — 

Cubic Inches. 

Nitrogen or azote 9.63 

Carbonic acid 4G.16 

Besides atmospheric air. 

Of the saline matter, 5.76 grains, carbo- 
nate of lime figures for 3.02, and muriate of 
lime, sulphate of lime, and sulphate of mag- 
nesia, 2.74 grains. 

The gas evolved from the water at the re- 
servoir was, in 100 cubic inches, as fol- 
lows : — 

Carbonic acid gas 0.59 

Oxygen gas 1.05 

Nitrogen gas 98.45 



100.00 



Temperature of the higher spring 48° F., 
of the two lower springs 54° F. 

The Clarendon waters enjoy a reputation 
in cutaneous diseases, chronic bronchitis, 
13 



146 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

anasarca, and especially in irritable bladder. 
The quantity drank in the twenty -four hours 
varies from five to twenty half pint tumblers- 
ful. They at first excite a warmth and ach- 
ing on the surface, sometimes attended with 
slight nausea. These sensations disappear 
when their diuretic action begins. This 
occurs in about six hours after drinking 
them. 

Of the mineral springs of Massachusetts, 
I have no details excepting on the Hopkin- 
son Springs, and the so called 

Berkshire Soda Spring, — This, as far as a 
qualitative analysis goes, may be classed 
among the acidulous waters. For a mention 
of the substances thus detected, and some 
other particulars respecting this spring, the 
reader is referred to the following extract of 
a letter from Dr. Clarkson T. Collins to Dr. 
Valentine Mott, dated May 17th, 1852 :— 

" I must not close this letter without men- 
tioning a very remarkable mineral spring 
situated among the mountains, a short dis- 
tance from this village ; and which has, for 
many years past, had a high local reputation 
for the cure of scrofula and eruptive dis- 



BERKSHIRE SODA SPRING.* 147 

eases of the skin. The people in this part 
of the country consider it a specific for the 
cure of all that class of eruptive diseases 
which are popularly called by the vague and 
indefinite term of salt rheum. 

" During the past year, by way of experi- 
ment, I have placed several obstinate cases 
of Eczema, Ecthyma, Acne, Porrigo, etc., 
under the exclusive treatment of this water, 
and the results have been very satisfactory ; 
indeed, I may say that, in some cases, its 
effect was most extraordinary. So pleased 
was I with the use of this mineral water, that 
I sent a jug of it to New York City, and had 
it analyzed by Professor Doremus and Dr. 
Blake, the former assistant of Professor Silli- 
man. It was found to contain soda, chlorine, 
carbonic acid, and a trace of alumina. Yet 
there is but little taste in it other than that 
of pure water. When bathed in, it imparts 
to the skin the most delightful softness of 
any that I have ever used, causing even a 
rough skin to feel smooth." 

" The spring is located among the moun- 
tains, within three miles of the beautiful vil- 
lage of Great Barrington, Berkshire County, 
Mass., through which four daily trains of cars 



148 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

pass. Great Barrington is twenty-eiglit miles 
east of the Hudson Eiver, and city of Hud- 
son ; ten miles from Hillsdale, on the Har- 
laem Eailroad; twenty miles from Pittsfield; 
twenty miles fromLebanon ; eighty miles from 
Bridgeport, and forty-eight miles from Al- 
bany, 1ST. Y., on the line of the Housatonic 
Eailroad, between the two last named places ; 
rendering it very accessible. During the 
warm season? a carriage will be run regularly 
four times a day between the village and the 
spring. Warm, cold, and shower baths are 
obtained by the visitors." 

It will be seen by the following extract of 
a letter from Dr. Collins to the writer, that 
the atmosphere of the vicinity of the springs 
is not only healing to the lungs, but exhila- 
rating to the brain : — 

" ffm. C. Bryant once practised law in this 
village. Dr. Holmes (professor), of Boston, 
resides in this county during the summer. . 
Gr. P. E. James, the English novelist, owns a 
farm, and is building a house in this town, 
four miles from the village. Miss Catharine 
Sedgwick resides eight miles from here, and 
Melville twenty." 

Hophinton Springs, — These waters have 



schooley's mountain spring. 149 

obtained some reputation in their section of 
country (as I learned, many years ago, from 
Dr. Bucklin) for the cure of scrofula and 
various affections of the skin. An analysis 
of the water of the chief spring, by Dr. Gor- 
ham, showed its constituents to be carbon- 
ates of lime, magnesia, and iron. Another 
one is highly impregnated with sulphur. 
Bathing in the waters is also recommended 
and practised. 

The chief watering place in New Jersey, 
is — 

THE SCHOOLEY'S MOUNTAIN SPRING. 

This spring, or rather rill, issues from a 
perpendicular rock, having an eastern expo- 
sure, between forty and fifty feet above the 
level of a brook which flows down into the 
channel beneath. A small wooden, trough is 
or was adapted to the fissure, so as to convey 
the water to a platform where the visitors 
assemble and to the baths. The tempera- 
ture of the water is 50° F., being 6° higher 
than the spring water nearer the summit. 
The quantity given out in an hour is thirty 
18* 



150 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

gallons, and it does not vary with season or 
weather. The water deposits oxide of iron 
on the troughs, baths, and even the drinking 
vessels. Its taste is strongly chalybeate. 
Iron ore abounds in the vicinity, and is 
worked to advantage in furnaces on both the 
eastern and western sides of the chain. Gray 
limestone is found at the base of the hills and 
along the valleys. 

The predominant ingredients are muriate 
and sulphate of lime and carbonated oxide of 
iron, as we learn from an analysis by Dr. 
McNeven. On exposure to the air the iron 
is precipitated, and the water has then such 
slight sensible properties that it maybe used 
for making tea. It will not bear transporta- 
tion, even in corked bottles, without this pre- 
cipitation taking place. 

As a pure carbonated chalybeate, the water 
of Schooley's Mountain Spring is well adapted 
to a variety of chronic maladies marked 
chiefly by anemia, debility, and mucous dis- 
charges, in which there is no inflammation 
of an organ present. Its tendency to induce 
constipation must be watched, and this effect 
corrected by the use of mild aperients. 

Schooley's Mountain, near the summit of 



schooley's mountain spring. 151 

which is the spring, is supposed to be about 
1,100 feet above the level of the sea. It 
forms part of the central granitic chain which 
extends in a northeast and southwest direc- 
tion across the State of New Jersey, from the 
Delaware to the Hudson Eiver. From the 
top of the mountain a turnpike road runs 
northward to Sussex, another westward to 
Easton, a third eastward to New York, and 
a fourth southward towards Trenton. 

It is situated in Washington Township, 
Morris County, nineteen miles northwest 
of Morristown, fifty from New York, seventy 
northeast from Philadelphia, and fifty-six 
from Trenton. From New York, the visitor 
to the springs will go to Morristown by rail- 
road and thence by stage, or to the White 
House by railroad and thence by stage. The 
springs are reached from Philadelphia by 
way of New Brunswick, and thence by stage 
six miles to Bound Brook, on the New Jersey 
Central Eailroad. By this last he reaches 
the White House, and, again by stage, the 
springs. 

In addition to the houses for the accom- 
modation of visitors there are others differ- 



152 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

ently occupied, and a cliurcli and school- 
house, together with a post-office. 

Among the amusements are fishing and 
boating on Budd's Pond, a beautiful sheet of 
water two miles in length by one in breadth, 
seven miles distant from the spring. The 
student and lover of geology may also find 
abundant materials to engage his attention 
and help him to w r ile away many an hour. — 
(Gordon's Gazetteer of Neio Jersey) 



CHAPTER X * 

Pennsylvania Springs. — In noticing the 
mineral springs of this State, I begin with 

The Bedford Springs. — These rank fore- 
most in Pennsylvania on account of their 
mineral properties and medicinal effects, and 
their mountain elevation and scenery. They 
are two miles from the town from which they 
derive their name, and Jess than two hundred 
miles from Philadelphia, and not one hundred 
from Pittsburg, on the great turnpike between 

* The contents of this chapter may be found in the 
first part of the volume. 



BEDFORD SPRINGS. 153 

these two cities; they are one hundred miles 
from Harrisburg, one hundred and thirty 
from Baltimore, and the same distance from 
Washington. The water of the chief spring 
(Anderson's) is a saline chalybeate. Others 
have received the designations of Fletcher s, 
or the Upper Spring, Limestone, Sweet, Sul- 
phur, and Chalybeate. The most active in- 
gredients in the first or main spring are 
sulphate of magnesia and carbonate of iron. 
The temperature of the water is 55° F., which 
must be somewhat higher than the common 
springs of this region. 

The Bedford waters have acquired de- 
served celebrity in indigestion and chronic 
diarrhoea and dysentery, and in renal dis- 
eases, in which the inflammation or inflam- 
matory excitement has subsided, and there 
remains an atonic and enfeebled condition 
of the organs. In uterine and in cutaneous 
diseases which have reached this stage and 
assumed a chronic character, they are, also, 
of decided benefit. The gouty and rheuma- 
tic, in whom there is no plethora or cerebral 
determination, have also reason to speak well 
of these waters. 



154 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

These prominent features of the Bedford 
Springs being premised, it may not be amiss 
to add a few particulars of their history and 
locality, and of their therapeutical value in 
some diseases not mentioned in the preced- 
ing paragraph. 

The discovery of the remedial virtues of 
the Bedford waters only dates about half a 
century back. "In the year 1804 a mecha- 
nic of Bedford, when fishing for trout in the 
stream near the principal fountain, was at- 
tracted by the beauty and singularity of the 
waters flowing from the bank, and drank 
freely of them. They proved purgative and 
sudorific. He had suffered" many years from 
rheumatic pains and formidable ulcers on the 
legs. On the ensuing night he was more free 
from pain, and slept more tranquilly than 
usual; and this unexpected relief induced 
him to drink daily of the waters, and to 
bathe his limbs in the fountain. In a few 
weeks he was entirely cured. The happy 
effect which they had on this patient led 
others, laboring under various chronic dis- 
eases, to the springs. In the summer of 
1805, many valetudinarians came in carriages, 



SITUATION OF THE SPRINGS. 155 

and encamped in the valley, to seek from the 
munificent hand of nature their lost health.*' 
— Gordon's Gazetteer of the State of Penn- 
sylvania. 

The springs, with the exception of the 
chalybeate, are situated in Shover's Valley, 
which lies between Constitution Hill, on the 
east, and Federal Hill on the west. The val- 
ley is watered by Shover's Creek, which 
passes through it, and discharges itself into 
the Eaystown branch of the Juniata Eiver 
about a mile east of the town. 

On the chief points which may be supposed 
to engage the attention of invalids visiting 
the Bedford Springs, Dr. Church* writes so 
pleasantly and so well that I shall use his 
language on the occasion rather than attempt 
a condensed description, which would not 
probably be so clear or satisfactory. The 
eulogy of the curative powers of the waters 
is strong, but judging from my own expe- 
rience of their efficacy, in a variety of cases 
in which I have prescribed them in Philadel- 
phia, it can hardly be deemed overwrought. 

* An Analysis of the Waters of the Bedford Mineral 
Springs, 



156 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

The use of these waters is contraindicated 
in plethoric habits, with determination of 
blood to the head, or with abdominal con- 
gestion and a predisposition to active he- 
morrhages, or during a paroxysmal state 
of gout, even though it be the wandering 
kind, and, also, in subacute rheumatism. 
In early life, when a student of medicine, 
I used to listen to the personal experience 
of the effects of the Bedford water on a 
highly intelligent and observing gentleman, 
brother of the late Professor Benjamin Smith 
Barton. He said that on one occasion he 
visited the springs, and began to use the 
water when he was still excited and some- 
what feverish by his journey, a condition of 
which he complained before he left home. 
The consequence was a sharp " bilious attack," 
of some days' duration. On another occasion, 
for he was a regular visitor to the springs, 
while laboring under a predisposition to the 
disease, he had an attack of gout, owing, 
as he believed, to his beginning to drink the 
waters before he was prepared by rest, regi- 
men, and some cooling remedies. For the 
most part he returned home in greatly 



Anderson's spring. 157 

amended health, and enjoyed longer exemp- 
tion from an attack of gout — a disease to 
which he was subject. 

Dr. Church will now tell us about these 
famed waters. 

"Anderson's, or the Principal Spring, issues 
in a very copious stream, from a fissure in a 
limestone rock, on the west side of Constitu- 
tion Hill, about thirty feet above the level of 
Shover's Creek, and is situated within twenty 
yards of the verge of the bank of the creek. 
The water is clear, lively, and sparkling. At 
ten A. M., on the 28th of May, 1825, the 
temperature of the water in the spring was 
58° P., while that of the surrounding atmo- 
sphere was 70° of the same scale. Its spe- 
cific gravity is 1.029. It has a peculiar saline 
taste, resembling a weak solution of Epsom 
salts in water, impregnated with carbonic 
acid, and exhales no perceptible odor. On 
exposure in an open vessel to the air, it be- 
comes vapid, but does not become turbid, or 
deposit a sediment. The water deposits car- 
bonate of iron on those substance over which 
it constantly flows. Limestone, iron ore, 
14 



158 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

calcareous and silicious substances, abound 
about the spring." 

Analysis by Dr. Church. — "A quart of 
water, evaporated to dryness, gave thirty-one 
grains of a residuum. The same quantity of 
water, treated agreeably to the rule laid down 
by Westrumb, contained eighteen and a half 
cubic inches of carbonic acid gas. The re- 
siduum, treated according to the rules given 
by Dr. Henry, in his system of chemistry, 
gave the following result: — 

Grains. 

Sulphate of magnesia, or Epsom salts . . 20 

Sulphate of lime 3| 

Muriate of soda 2 J 

Muriate of lime . . . . . f 

Carbonate of iron 1J 

Carbonate of lime ...... 2 

Loss f 

31 
To which must be added 18 J cubic inches of carbonic 
acid gas. 

" Fletchers, or the Upper Spring, issues from 
a fissure in a limestone rock, on the west side 
of Constitution Hill, about one hundred and 
fifty yards south of Anderson's Spring. It 
is also a copious spring. At ten A. M., on 



ANALYSIS OF THE WATEE3. 159 

the 28th of May, 1825, the temperature of 
the water in the spring was 55° F., while 
that of the surrounding atmosphere was 
70° of the same scale. The foregoing ex- 
periments, made on this water, gave rather 
more iron and common salt, less magnesia, 
and about the same proportion of the other 
substances. And the general observations 
made regarding Anderson's Spring, are equal- 
ly applicable to this one. 

11 It gives me great pleasure to state that 
the foregoing analysis of these waters, con- 
firms that made a few years ago by one of 
the first chemists of the nation."* They fur- 
nished, by this analysis, " 1st. Carbonate of 
lime, with excess of acid. 2d. Sulphate of 
magnesia, or Epsom salts. 3d. Sulphate of 
lime, small quantity. 4th. Muriate of mag- 
nesia. 5th. Carbonated oxide of iron." 

The Board of Managers of the Springs, 
in their circular letter, very justly observe 
that, from the results given, it is plain these 
waters must be laxative and tonic ; and ex- 
perience has amply proved that they pos- 
sess these effects in a high degree. They 

* Dr. De Butts, of Baltimore. 



160 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

give rise to full purging, and cause a dis- 
charge of bilious or other acrid matters 
with as much activity as the most powerful 
purgatives. They also excite the action of 
the kidneys and skin, causing a very free 
secretion of urine and perspiration. 

It is further stated that the Bedford wa- 
ters, drank with proper precaution respecting 
quantity, temperature, diet, and exercise, and 
accompanied by the judicious use of the 
baths, are found to be salutary in a wide 
range of chronic diseases. In hepatic affec- 
tions, in diseases of the stomacli and intes- 
tines, in dyspeptic and hypochondriacal de- 
rangements, in hemorrhoids, and in all the 
varieties of intestinal worms, the water has 
effected numerous cures. In secondary dis- 
eases of the lungs, originating in the sym- 
pathies of those organs with the stomach and 
liver, the relief has been equally certain. 
In the diseases of the skin and of the kid- 
neys, and especially in calculous and gravelly 
affections, they have been very efficacious. 
In rheumatism of weak excitement, in ana- 
sarca and various uterine diseases, such, as 
obstructions of the menstrual flux, or its 



REMEDIAL EFFECTS. 161 

excess, fluor albus, painful menstruation, &e., 
many cures have been effected, and, failing in 
this, they have still been generally beneficial. 
In diabetes, and in certain forms of gout, 
they have been used with great profit. In 
the debility following the cure of acute dis- 
eases, and in the weakness consequent on the 
mercurial treatment of syphilis, the Bedford 
waters have been found to be good restora- 
tives. In all those chronic affections, which 
are too often the consequence of acute dis- 
eases in southern climates, and especially in 
those called bilious, the waters, together with 
the bracing vigor of a mountain air, effect 
most happy changes. 

" The solvents of the greater part of the 
substances held in solution by this water, 
being fixed ones, render it peculiarly fit for 
transportation, and it is carried away, almost 
daily, at a great expense, to the cities and 
neighboring states, where it produces its very 
beneficial effects." 

The Limestone, or Loiver Spring, is a very 
bold spring of pure limestone water, which 
issues from two or three fissures in a lime- 
stone rock, on the west side of Constitution 
14* 



162 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

Hill, about two hundred yards lower on the 
creek than Anderson's Spring, and about 
forty feet below the level of that spring. It 
issues in sufficient quantities to turn an over- 
shot mill. On the 28th of May, 1825, the tern- 
peratureof the water in the spring was 51°F., 
and that of the surrounding atmosphere was 
70° of the same scale. 

" The Sulphur Spring rises on the west 
side of Shover's Creek, about two hundred 
yards distant from Anderson's Spring. It is 
a weaker spring than the others, and the 
water is covered with a thin whitish pellicle. 
The water exhales a very strong odor of 
sulphuretted hydrogen gas. Its temperature 
was 56° F., while that of the atmosphere was 
71°. It has a peculiarly unpleasant hepatic 
taste, which I cannot well define. Chemical 
experiments, conducted in the same manner 
as those before detailed, prove that it holds 
in solution carbonic acid, sulphuretted hy- 
drogen gas, small quantities of lime, magne- 
sia, and common salt, and that it contains no 
iron. 

" The Sweet Springs are two in number, 
and issue from fissures in slate rocks, about 



CHALYBEATE SPRING. 163 

fifty yards apart, on the east side of Federal 
Hill, about one hundred and fifty yards dis- 
tant from Anderson's Spring, from which they 
are separated by Shover's Creek. They are 
copious springs of remarkably pure water, 
which is very clear and colorless. Its tem- 
perature was, on the 28th of May, 52° F. 
Infusions of litmus and turmeric, barytes, 
nitrate of silver, carbonate of ammonia, and 
phosphate of soda, added after each other, 
muriate of lime and tincture of galls, effected 
no changes on this water. Lime-water ren- 
dered it slightly turbid. It is the purest 
water I ever saw, and all that is necessary to 
render it as pure as distilled water, is to ex- 
pel the carbonic acid by boiling, after which 
it can be kept in well-stopped bottles, and used 
for the same purpose as distilled water. The 
water of these springs is used for cooking, 
washing, &c, by the residents at Bedford 
Springs; and the visitors decidedly prefer it 
for drinking water ; and, on account of its 
purity, they very appropriately called these 
springs the Sweet Springs. 

11 The Chalybeate Spring rises in a meadow, 
about one and a half miles northeast of Bed- 



164 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

ford, and about three miles from Anderson's 
Spring. It is not a copious spring. The 
water exhales the peculiar odor of sulphu- 
retted hydrogen gas, and is covered with a 
thin whitish pellicle. When first taken from 
the spring it is clear and limpid, but on ex- 
posure in an open vessel to the action of the 
air, it becomes turbid. Its taste is ferrugi- 
nous and slightly hepatic. Experiments 
conducted as those heretofore detailed, prove 
that it contains carbonic acid, sulphuretted 
hydrogen, carbonate of iron, with muriate of 
soda, and a minute portion of magnesia. 
The spring is surrounded by a species of iron 
ore, called bog ore. A singular fact connect- 
ed with the history of this spring is, that 
part of a skeleton of a mammoth was found 
when cleaning it out." 

There are ample accommodations for visit- 
ors, both at the springs and in the town of 
Bedford. 

" Houses for the cold, shower, and warm 
baths are erected, in which there is every ac- 
commodation for taking the baths, and an 
attentive and obliging bath-keeper takes 
charge of these establishments. The water 



PLEASANT WALKS. 165 

that supplies the warm bath is conveyed from 
the Upper Spring, through a tunnel, which 
passes under the channel of Sh over's Creek. 
The same tunnel supplies a trough for water- 
ing horses, and I was credibly informed that 
the use of the water cured the botts, the 
hide-bound, and other diseases of horses, and 
that that noble and valuable animal becomes 
remarkably fond of the water after drinking 
it a short time. 

44 To describe the serpentine and beautiful 
walks up Constitution Hill; the artificial lake 
of fresh water, on which small boats can 
plsasantly sail ; the small artificial island in 
the lake, on which the managers intend to 
plant choice shrubbery, and the other im- 
provements, would extend this lengthened 
paper so as to tire the reader. I shall, there- 
fore, pass them without further notice, and 
conclude by observing, that, although I can- 
not say with Dr. Goldsmith, in his ' Deserted 
Village,' 

' Here smiling Spring its earliest visit pays, 
And parting Summer's lingering bloom delays;' 

yet I can with great justice say, here nature 
has formed the scenery truly picturesque and 



166 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

romantic, and art has harmoniously combined 
with her in rendering it still more beautiful. 
Here, also, 'the chemist, the geologist, the 
mineralogist, the botanist, the landscape 
painter, and the general lover of nature, will 
find much to employ, amuse, delight, and 
reward attention, or beguile the tedium of 
valetudinary habits and distresses;'* and that 
the facilities for travelling to and from the 
cities, by turnpike rOads, &c, good accommo- 
dations, scenery, climate, the efficacy of the 
waters, &c, all combine to render Bedford 
one of the principal watering places in the 
United States." 

Dr. Caspar Morris speaks in high terms of 
the good effects of the Bedford water on him- 
self, both at the springs and at home. He 
says : — 

" The sensible action of the water of the 
1 Mineral Spring,' at Bedford, is on the kid- 
neys, producing very prompt and profuse 
diuresis ; on the skin, giving rise to very 
free perspiration ; and on the bowels, causing 
gentle catharsis. It will thus be evident that 
all the emunctories are stimulated to increased 

* Philad. Journal. 



DIRECTIONS FOR USING THE WATER. 167 

activity; the discharges are copious, and yet 
not only is no debility induced, but there is 
an actual increase of vital force, in proportion 
to this activity. I have myself twice gone 
to Bedford, so prostrated as scarcely to en- 
dure the fatigue of the journey, and wholly 
disqualified for all exertion, and have in both 
instances returned, at the end of a fortnight 
or three weeks, restored to my wonted power 
of labor ; and have witnessed similar results 
in the cases of friends and patients. This 
increase of energy cannot be justly attributed 
to the mere catharsis and diuresis, disgorging 
the portal circulation, and thus promoting 
digestion and assimilation ; though, undoubt- 
edly, much is due to this cause."* 

Dr. M. recommends the invalid to rise early, 
and, before dressing, to drink half a pint of 
the water in his room. Eepairing to the 
spring, he will there drink another tumbler- 
ful of water, and repeat this process until five 
are taken at intervals of at least ten minutes. 
A brisk walk should be taken during each 
interval. "Two hours should be occupied 
in the drinking and walking before breakfast, 

* Medical Examiner, June, 1852. 



168 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

during which time the skin and kidneys will 
pour forth an amount of fluid proportioned 
to the quantity which has been swallowed, 
and these secretions should be promoted by 
exercise adapted to the strength of the in- 
valid. The quantity mentioned will gene- 
rally occasion some three or four watery 
evacuations from the bowels, of a bright yel- 
low color, without pain or exhaustion. Should 
this not occur during the two hours following 
breakfast, another glass should be swallowed 
before dinner ; and in case the bowels should 
still resist the influence of the water, a dose 
of blue pill should be taken at bedtime, fol- 
lowed, in the morning, either by calcined 
magnesia, or the addition of Epsom salts to 
the Water. I have never known the water 
to prove violently or painfully active, but in 
one person. In such an event the use of it 
should be suspended." 

Dr. Morris's experience is coincident with 
my own in favor of the utility of the Bedford 
water in sick headache. I have found it, 
also, of the greatest service in other cases of 
distressing nausea with gastralgic pains and 
constipation. 



COMPARATIVE ANALYSES. 169 

An analysis of the water undertaken by 
Dr. Chestom J., son of Dr. Caspar Morris, in 
the laboratory of Professor Booth, gave dif- 
ferent proportions of the salts from those de- 
tected by Dr. Church. Dr. C. J. Morris found 
in a pint of the water 11.274 grs. of the sul- 
phate of lime, and 3.974 grains of the sul- 
phate of magnesia ; whereas Dr. Church ex- 
hibits 20 grs. of this last salt, and but 3.705 
of the sulphate of lime in a quart of the 
water. The chloride of sodium (muriate of 
soda), in Dr. Church's analysis, is 2.500 grs., 
and in that of Dr. Morris little more than a 
third of a grain. Iron was believed by the 
former to exist in the state of a carbonate, 
by the i latter in that of a sulphate, together 
with sulphate of alumina ignored by Dr. C. 
Sulphate of soda, in the proportion of 3.092 
grs., mentioned by Dr. Morris, does not ap- 
pear in the analysis of Dr. Church. The 
entire amount of solid contents found by the 
latter gentleman was 31 grs., and by the 
former, preserving the same proportion of 
water, they would be 44.402 grs. The ab- 
sence of carbonic acid in Dr. Morris's analysis 
is explained by the fact of his having exa- 
15 



170 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

mined the water in Philadelphia, at a dis- 
tance from the spring, and hence an escape 
of the gas. 

Within a day's ride of Bedford are the 
little town of Bath, in Virginia, and its ther- 
mal spring, of which further mention will 
soon be made. 

Chalybeate Spring, near Pittsburg. — "Within 
four miles of Pittsburg is this spring, which 
has been described and analyzed by Dr. 
Meade. 

" When the water remains undisturbed for 
a few hours, it is covered with a white pelli- 
cle ; its taste is lively and rather pungent, 
with a peculiar ferruginous flavor, and it ex- 
hales an odor of sulphuretted hydrogen gas. 
Its temperature is very generally uniform, 
and is of 54° F. The specific gravity of the 
water differs little from the purest water, and 
is as 1,002 to 1,000. 

"According to Dr. Meade's analysis, it con- 
tains muriate of soda, 2 grains ; muriate of 
magnesia, J grain ; oxide of iron, 1 grain ; 
sulphate of lime, J grain ; carbonic acid gas 
in one quart of water, 18 cubic inches. 

" Dr. M. thinks this water even superior, 
in a medicinal point of view, to the water of 



FRANKFORT MINERAL SPRING. 171 

the Schoolers Mountain Spring, which has 
long sustained a high character for its chaly- 
beate properties." 

Frankfort Mineral Springs. — Dr. Church, 
many years ago, directed public attention to 
these springs. 

" Cave spring, which is the most consider- 
able, and to which there is the greatest resort, 
is very romantically situated within a large 
cave, on the farm of Mr. John Stevens, in 
Hanover Township, Beaver County, Penn- 
sylvania, about twenty-six miles southwest 
of Pittsburg, and about one mile and a half 
northeast of the village of Frankfort. The 
cave is a great natural curiosity. It is exca- 
vated by nature out of a large hill, and is 
about sixty feet below the surface of the earth. 
It is overhung, and in some places arched over 
with large flat rocks, which are covered with 
calcareous incrustations, strongly impregnated 
with the sulphate of iron and alum.* 

" The water of Cave Spring would seem, 
from the analysis of Dr. Church, to contain 
the following substances: Carbonic acid, car- 
bonate of iron, carbonate of magnesia, sul- 

* Philadelphia Medical and Physical Journal. 



172 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

phuretted hydrogen gas, muriate of soda, and 
a minute portion of bitumen. 

"Leiper Spring, within a quarter of a mile 
of Frankfort, holds in solution rather more 
carbonate of iron and muriate of soda, less 
carbonate of magnesia, the same proportion 
of sulphuretted hydrogen gas, carbonic acid, 
and bitumen, than Cave Spring." 

Dr. Church, in reference to the medicinal 
employment of the Frankfort water, tells us, 
that when first drunk it sometimes excites 
nausea and vomiting. For the most part, 
however, the water sits well on the stomach. 
Some individuals, not very wisely, have drunk 
two or three quarts in the course of an hour, 
without its causing any sensation of weight 
or coldness at the stomach. It generally 
operates two or three times on the bowels, 
and very copiously by the kidneys. In some 
persons it produces vertigo and slight intoxi- 
cation. This water, to use the language of 
Dr. Church, "regulates the bowels, strengthens 
the stomach, improves the appetite astonish- 
ingly, clears the skin, promotes diaphoresis 
and great freedom of urination." 

" Drinking the water, with the use of the 



YORK SPRINGS. 173 

cold shower-bath, has been of great service 
to persons laboring under chronic rheuma- 
tism, gravel, dyspepsia, asthma caused by 
gastric irritation, general debility of the sys- 
tem, and to convalescents from bilious fever 
and liver complaints. The use of the water 
alone has cured several cases of cutaneous 
affections, such as herpes, psora, &c." Dr. 
C. mentions his own personal experience of 
entire cure of bad hemorrhoids, with which 
he had been affected for years, after drinking 
the water during five or six days. Other 
persons had reported to him similar cases of 
entire relief. 

York Springs. — They were formerly much 
visited, especially by citizens of Baltimore. 
One of them is saline ; and consists of 1.20 
grains of sulphate of magnesia, 6 grains of 
sulphate of lime, and 4 of muriate of soda in 
a pint of water. The other is a strong chaly- 
beate. The water of the first is said to be 
diuretic and mildly cathartic. The chaly- 
beate will, of course, produce the same effects 
as others of its class. This place is readily 
reached by railroad from Philadelphia and 
Baltimore. It is in Adams County, " two to 
15* 



174 MIXERAL AXD THERMAL SPRINGS. 

four hours ride of Gettysburg, Carlisle, Har- 
risburg, and Hanover." 

Perry County Sjmngs. — These, erroneously 
called "warm," are so far thermal as to be, 
probably, 70° or 72° F., or fifteen to eighteen 
degrees higher than the common springs of 
the country; and hence the water would fur- 
nish a pleasantly cool, approaching to a tem- 
perate bath. When drank, they are said to 
have a gentle aperient and a decidedly diuretic 
effect. Cutaneous diseases have been cured 
by the baths. They are situated on the banks 
of Sherman's Creek, eleven miles from Car- 
lisle, fourteen from Harrisburg, and the same 
distance from Dancannon on the Central Rail- 
road, and at the foot of Pisgah Mountain, in 
a district which allows of fine drives and 
rides. 

Carlisle Springs. — The water of these 
springs is a mild sulphureous one. They 
are within a short distance of the town of 
Carlisle, which is traversed by the railroad 
from Philadelphia to Pittsburg. 

The house for the reception of visitors is 
said to be well kept. 

Some springs of common water, such as 



DOUBLING GAP SPRINGS. 175 

the " Hogshead Spring," remarkable for the 
extreme purity and coolness of its water, and 
Setart's Spring for its great volume, so that it 
turns two mills at its origin, merit the notice 
of a visitor to the Carlisle Springs. The 
same may be said of the Cave, on the banks 
of the Conedoguinit Creek. 

Doubling Gap Sulphureous and Chalybeate 
Springs. — They are situated in a gap formed 
by the doubling of the Kittanny or North 
Mountain, about thirty miles southwest of 
Harrisburg, in Cumberland County. The 
Cumberland Valley Railroad passes through 
New ville, distant eight miles from the springs, 
to which visitors are taken by stages. 

Professor Booth, of Philadelphia, writes 
respecting his analysis of the sulphur spring 
water as follows : — 

" The odor of sulphuretted hydrogen, per- 
ceived at some distance from the springs, 
imparts to this water the peculiar properties 
of sulphur springs. Besides this ingredient, 
I find that the water contains carbonate of 
soda and of magnesia, Glauber's salts, Epsom 
salts, and common salt, ingredients which 
give it an increased value. After removing 



176 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

the excess of carbonic acid which it contains, 
it gives an alkaline reaction." 

Of the other spring, he says : " The chaly- 
beate water readily yields a precipitate after 
ebullition or continued exposure to the excess 
of carbonic acid. Besides the bicarbonate of 
iron, which is the chief characteristic, it also 
contains Epsom salts, common salt, and car- 
bonate of magnesia." 

With a knowledge of the constituents of 
these waters, and of the curative powers 
of the respective classes, sulphureous and 
chalybeate, to which they belong, it will be 
easy to indicate the diseases and the condi- 
tions generally in which they can be used 
with benefit. The precise dose, either with 
a view to their aperient or other modes of 
action on the economy, must be a matter of 
experimental trial at the springs. 

Fayette Spring. — " In a deep glen on the 
eastern slope of Laurel Hill, and half a mile 
south of the National Eoad, is the Fayette 
Spring." So wrote a correspondent of the 
North American and United States Gazette^ 
July, 1854. He adds: "The water is a chaly- 
beate, very cold, and of copious supply. The 



BLOSSBURG SPRINGS. 177 

attractions of the place are the wild scenery, 
and refreshing coolness and elasticity of the 
pure mountain air. Pittsburg, Wheeling, 
and the smaller towns nearer the place, fur- 
nish the six score visitors who, with none of 
the fashionable but deleterious luxuries of 
the great watering places, enjoy themselves 
more rationally. It often rains, too; so I 
marvel not that men leave the valleys to en- 
joy here the blessings of showers and dew, 
of lightning and clouds, of mountains and 
hills, and all green things of the earth." 

Blossburg Mineral Springs. — The town is 
in the region of the bituminous coal and iron 
mines of Tioga County, which borders on the 
State of New York. It is connected by rail- 
road with Corning, in New York, and by this 
latter place with the New York and Brie 
Eailroad. It lies, also, about twenty miles 
west of the junction railroads between Phila- 
delphia and Elmira. The cross-road is rough 
and mountainous. 

The water of the Blossburg Springs, as 
far as I can learn from Dr. Edward Harts- 
horne, ranks them among the acid class. It 
probably contains, besides the excess of sul- 



178 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

phuric acid, sulphates of iron and of alumina, 
with sulphate of magnesia, and possesses the 
same therapeutic value as other waters of 
this kind. Dose, a tablespoonful. There is 
a new and spacious hotel at Blossburg. 

Bath Chalybeate Springs. — At one time 
these springs used to be visited by many of 
the citizens of Philadelphia, on account, in 
good part, of ready access to them. They 
are a short distance, half a mile, from Bristol, 
on the Delaware. Dr. Benj. Rush wrote a 
notice of them in 1773. 

Besides these mineral springs of Pennsyl- 
vania now enumerated, there are cold springs 
of pure water, which, owing to their situation 
in a healthy and romantic district of country, 
and the facilities furnished for cold bathing, 
have acquired deserved vogue. Of these I 
shall notice — 

The Yellow Springs. — They are in Chester 
County, thirty miles from Philadelphia, and 
are reached from this city twice daily by 
the Reading railroad and stages. The view 
of the surrounding country is fine, and facili- 
ties are given for excursions in different di- 
rections. In addition to the natural baths 



EPHRATA SPRINGS. 179 

by immersion, shower and douching, of the 
temperature of the chief spring, which is 53° 
F., warm ones are also supplied. The house 
is well kept, and the table really good. 

The JEphrata Mountain Springs. — These 
springs, situated in Lancaster County, are 
resorted to by large numbers of people every 
year. The scenery, the grounds around, the 
accommodations and means for baths of 
various temperatures, present strong induce- 
ments for visiting this spot. 

Caledonia Springs. — To the inhabitants of 
the city who have suffered from the wear and 
tear of business, to the invalid slowly re- 
covering from disease, to those who have be- 
come weakened and exhausted in the giddy 
round of pleasure, and to all who would like 
to see Nature in her nobler aspects, this spot 
is eminently inviting. A new scene and new 
associations of a genial and abiding character 
are opened to us, and, for a while, at least, 
we feel ourselves relieved from leaden cares, 
and enjoy a sense of unwonted freedom. 
While nature has been so bountiful in her 
mountain and woodland views, her pure and 
copious springs and streams, and a vivifying 



180 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

and exhilarating air, art has also contributed 
its share to the comforts of the visitors to 
this spot, who are received in a new, spa- 
cious, and well-ordered hotel, are comfort- 
ably lodged, and sit down to a table every- 
way well supplied — the viands good, abund- 
ant, and prepared with due culinary skill. 

The Caledonia, long known as Sweeny's 
Cold Springs, have enjoyed, during many 
years past, quite a reputation, when used as 
a bath, for the cure of chronic rheumatism 
and various other diseases in which there is 
blending of still remaining febrile heat and 
irritation, with debility. Warm baths a]so 
are always to be had. 

The springs are situated at the foot of the 
South Mountain, which rises in the rear of the 
hotel, and in front they command an extensive 
view of alternate woods and fields, terminated 
by a semicircular sweep of the North Mount- 
ain. Temperature 52° F. Without meaning 
to undervalue the efficacy of mineral waters, 
the writer can recommend invalids or the 
weak, who wish to become stronger, to make 
the regular drinking of the singularly pure 
water of one of the springs, before breakfast 



CALEDONIA SPRINGS. 181 

and before dinner, a part of the pleasant re- 
gimen of good eating, sound sleeping, and 
varied exercise, which he will enjoy at this 
favored spot. 

The reputation acquired during so long a 
period by the Malvern Springs in England, 
for the cure of a large number of diseases, 
may well be participated in by the Cale- 
donia waters. Both of them are remarkable 
for their extreme purity, and both are appli- 
cable to the same curative ends when used 
as a bath and for drinking. The waters of 
Malvern sometimes purge, but more gene- 
rally produce constipation — effects very ana- 
logous to those caused by a methodical 
drinking of the Caledonia waters. All of 
them have been found serviceable in chronic 
cutaneous disease, when "used both extern- 
ally and internally. I would refer the reader 
to what w T as said of the Clarendon Springs in 
Vermont for additional suggestions. 

The Caledonia Springs are fifteen miles 
from Chambersburg ; the greater part of the 
road being the turnpike which unites this 
town with Gettysburg. Visitors, on their 
arrival by railroad from Philadelphia or Bal- 
16 



182 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

timore, are taken out immediately in omni- 
buses or other vehicles from Chambersburg 
to the springs, which they reach in the even- 
ing of the same day of their leaving either 
of the cities just named. 

The Branclywine Springs in Delaware, once 
much resorted to, are no longer visited for 
the purposes of health or pleasure; and yet 
few spots in the Union present greater attrac- 
tions than these springs, in their elevated 
yet not too exposed situation, pure air, fine 
scenery and charming rides. They are with- 
in a few miles (eight, I believe), of Wilming- 
ton. The water of the chief spring is a mild 
chalybeate. 



BATH SPRING. 183 



CHAPTER XL 

Virginia — Its numerous mineral and thermal springs — 
Bath (Berkley County) — Jordan's White Sulphur Ca- 
pon — Fauquier or Warrenton — " Virginia Springs" — 
The Bath Alum — Rockbridge Alum — Volcanism and 
Thermalism — The Warm Springs — The Hot Springs — 
Group of Sulphur Springs — The White Sulphur. 

Virginia is peculiarly rich in mineral 
springs, and, until the acquisition of Califor- 
nia and New Mexico, had more thermal ones 
than any other portion of the United States. 
Beginning with those in the north and ad- 
vancing to the south, we first meet with — 

The Bath (Berkley County) Spring. — 
This is a mild carbonated thermal water of 
the temperature of 73° F., the same as that 
which in England, by a strange blunder, is 
called Bristol Hot Well. It has been very 
serviceable in a variety of chronic diseases, 
when used as a bath. Persons who went 
there crippled with chronic rheumatism have 
come away quite restored to the free use of 
their limbs, and as as;ile in all their move- 



184 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

merits as the country people around. The 
internal use of the water, which holds in 
solution some of the salts of lime and mag- 
nesia, merits more attention than it has 
generally received, especially in atonic and 
irritable dyspepsia and chronic bowel dis- 
eases. In irritable bladder and the tendency 
to lithic acid deposits it will also be found 
useful. The dose of the Bristol, or, as it is 
now called, Clifton water, is two half pints, 
with some interval between them, before 
breakfast, and the same quantity between 
breakfast and dinner. 

Bath is within a short distance of the Bal- 
timore and Ohio Railroad, if we are not mis- 
taken; and, as already stated, it is not far 
from Bedford, Pennsylvania. The hotels 
are well kept. 

Shannondale Saline Springs. — These 
springs are within a few miles of Charlestown, 
Jefferson County, through which the railroad 
from Harper's Ferry to Winchester passes. 
There visitors take stages, and, after a ride 
of five miles, are at the Springs. The water 
acts as a mild aperient and diuretic, and is 
adapted, in consequence, to a large circle of 



Jordan's white sulphur springs. 185 

diseases in which a gradual reducing process 
of chronic inflammation and irritation is 
gone through without pain or annoyance, 
and with an improvement of the appetite 
and general strength. The springs are near 
the banks of the Shenandoah Kiver, the 
sound of whose waters is heard with an 
agreeable effect at the hotel on the hill where 
the visitors are quartered. There are few 
spots in the Union which present so many 
natural advantages and capabilities for ex- 
tended walks, gardens, and groves as Shan- 
nondale. 

Jordan's White Sulphur Springs. — 
They are about five or six miles from Win- 
chester, and two miles from the railroad be- 
tween this town and Harper's Ferry. Pas- 
sengers leaving Baltimore in the morning 
will reach the springs about three in the 
afternoon. The waters are serviceable in 
chronic dyspepsia with a torpid state of the 
liver, chronic rheumatism, cutaneous affec- 
tions, and the debility left by fevers. 

Many of the visitors to the upper or moun- 
tain springs in the southwestern part of the 
State, spend a few days here on their return 
16* 



186 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

to the north; and those from the Eastern 
Shore and Northern Neck linger late in the 
season, until it is safe for them to go home, 
with a prospect of escaping an attack of their 
endemic fevers. 

Capon Springs. — These have come greatly 
into vogue of late years, and, as it would 
seem, not without good reason. The water 
is beneficial in certain forms of dyspepsia and 
in renal affections, especially, as we are told, 
in the lithic acid diathesis. The arrange- 
ments for cold bathing are on a large scale, 
and the baths of a superior kind. Warm 
bathing can also be enjoyed by those who 
claim it, either as a hygienic agent or a 
remedy in disease. Mountain air largely 
inhaled gives a keener relish for the moun- 
tain mutton, of which the lovers of good 
cheer speak so highly at this place. A 
hotel of the first class has been erected, and 
furnishes good quarters to a large number of 
visitors. Not a few have their own houses 
and cabins. 

The Capon Springs are about thirty miles 
from Winchester. Whether for fear of di- 
minishing the reputation of the water as a 



WARRENTON WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS. 187 

medicinal agent, by showing how very slight 
is its mineral impregnation, or owing to the 
indolence of the parties more directly in- 
terested in the question, we cannot say ; but, 
as yet, there has been no analysis made, or, 
at any rate, reported, which has come under 
my notice. 

Fauquier or Warrextox White Sul- 
phur Springs. — They derive their first name 
from the county, the second from the town 
near to which (six and a half miles) they are 
situated. They are thus within a few miles 
of the railroad from Alexandria to Warren- 
ton, and at the same distance to the one from 
Staunton via Gordonsville, which traverses 
the valley ; and they are reached by stages 
from Winchester. 

The waters are of a mild sulphureous na- 
ture, but of the proportion of their gaseous 
and solid contents we are ignorant. Xumer- 
ous cases are recorded of their efficacy in 
dyspepsia, chronic diarrhoea and chronic 
rheumatism, also in renal affections and dis- 
orders of females, but without very minute 
specification of the organic lesions in these 
latter. 



188 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

Superior attractions to those of the waters 
are offered to the crowd of visitors in a noble 
mansion as a hotel, extensive and tastefully 
arranged grounds, ornamented with shrub- 
beries and parterres. In addition to the main 
building or pavilion, which has a portico on 
its western front commanding a view of the 
lawn and an extensive picturesque region 
beyond, there are several brick buildings of 
a large size. Ample provision is made for 
all the varieties of bathing. 

Traversing the beautiful and fertile region, 
known as the Valley, between the Blue Eidge 
and the Alleghany Mountains, which begins 
at Harper's Ferry, and ends at the Natural 
Bridge, south of Lexington, we find ourselves 
in the region of the celebrated "Virginia 
Springs." We know of no part of the world, 
of the same extent, which is marked by such 
a number and variety of mineral and thermal 
springs as the one now under notice. It pos- 
sesses, at the same time, the advantages of a 
fine climate and scenery of a highly diversi- 
fied character. The company at the several 
springs, free from aristocratic pretensions and 
ridiculous attempts at exclusiveness, always 



BATH ALUM SPRINGS. 189 

exhibits a large share of intelligence, good 
taste and sociability. The infusion of the 
Virginian or southern element — a frank, cor- 
dial address and good humor — adds not a 
little to the pleasures of the northern visitors, 
who, with excellent intentions, are not re- 
markable for that ease of manner and confid- 
ing speech which invite intimacy. 

Leaving Staunton, with a design to visit 
the " springs," we shape our course west, and 
at a distance of forty-five miles in that direc- 
tion, we reach — 

The Bath Alum Springs. — They are on the 
main road from Eichmond to Guyandotte on 
the Ohio Eiver, at the eastern base of the 
Warm Spring Mountain, and a few miles east 
of these springs on the direct road from 
Staunton to the White Sulphur Springs. 

An analysis of the water of one of the 
Bath Alum Springs, that most used, by Dr. 
Hayes, of Boston, shows it to contain, in a 
gallon, nearly fifty-five grains of saline sub- 
stances, and of carbonic and sulphuric acids. 
Those most active are the salts of iron and 
alumina, and on them and the free sulphuric 
acid, the sensible properties and curative 



190 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

powers of these waters in a great measure 
depend. Being a strong tonic and astringent, 
it is easy to indicate a number of diseases in 
which they must be of service, and, already, 
experience has proved in many respects what 
a priori reasoning would have suggested re- 
specting their beneficial operation. We may 
specify, as first on the list, chronic affections 
of the digestive mucous membranes, includ- 
ing those of the throat, stomach, and bowels, 
and marked by feebleness or imperfection of 
function and morbid secretions. Similar 
praise may be extended to it in chronic rheu- 
matism, chronic diseases of the urinary and 
generative organs, and cutaneous diseases. 
Chronic ulcers, simulating cancers, and scro- 
fula have been greatly relieved, and in some 
cases entirely cured by the methodical drink- 
ing of these waters — a result quickened by 
their external application to the sore or 
tumor. 

The accommodations for the reception and 
entertainment of visitors are represented to 
be of a superior kind at these springs. 

. Rockbridge Alum Springs. — If, in place of 
turning off west from Staunton, we were to 



ROCKBRIDGE AND BATH SPRINGS. 191 

go further south, to Lexington and the Na- 
tural Bridge, and then visit the Warm Springs, 
we should meet with these alum springs on 
the road. They are seventeen miles from 
Lexington, thirty-three from the Natural 
Bridge, and twenty-two from the Warm 
Springs, by way of the Bath Alum ones, in 
a valley between the North Mountain on the 
east and the Mill Mountain on the west. 

The composition of the waters of these 
springs, as ascertained by Dr. Hayes, is simi- 
lar to that of the Bath Alum Waters, and 
both of them resemble those of the Oak Or- 
chard Springs in New York. The Kock- 
bridge water is stronger in the proportion of 
free sulphuric acid and the sulphate of alu- 
mina, but contains less iron than the Bath 
waters. Its use is applicable to the same 
diseases in which the other is beneficial, with 
the modifications required by the differences 
in chemical composition just now stated. 

The following are the analyses of the two 
springs by Dr. Hayes : — 

In order to show at a glance the compara- 
tive composition of the two springs de- 
scribed, I give them in a tabular form. 



192 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 



In a gallon of the water are found — 





Rockbridge. 


Bath. 


Sulphate of potash 


. 1.755 


0.258 


" lime 


. 3.263 


2.539 


" magnesia 


. 1.763 


1.282 


" protoxide i 


ron . 4.863 


21.776 


Alumina 


. 17.905 


12.293 


Crenate of ammonia 


. 0.700 


1.776 


Chloride of sodium 


. 1.008 




Silicic acid . 


. 2.840 Silicate soda, 3.150 


Free sulphuric acid 


. 15.224 


7.878 


Carbonic acid 


. 7.536 


3.846 




56.867 


54.798 


Pure water . 


58315.133- 


58317.202 




58372.000 


58372.000 



Volcanism and Thermal Springs. — Now 
that we are approaching the region of ther- 
mal springs, it will be well to inquire into 
their geological relations, and to see whether 
here, as in so many other parts of the world, 
they are not associated with faults, and other 
evidences of disturbance and disruption, by 
which the strata have been converted from 
their horizontal position, into sharp angles 
and breaks. Changes of this nature, evincing 
the operation of a deep-seated cause, usually 
referred to igneous or volcanic forces, were 



FAULTS — THERMAL SPRINGS. 193 

alluded to when speaking of the gaseous and 
thermal springs of New York. 

Primitive mountain chains, although they 
may not present on their surface volcanic 
products, bear undoubted marks of igneous 
origin, and of having been upheaved during 
a period of the greatest activity of what 
may be called general volcanism. Professor 
Forbes, of Edinburgh, in his visit to the 
springs of the Pyrenees, has shown that the 
majority of those of a thermal character, 
gush out at or near the line of junction 
between the granite or other igneous pro- 
ducts, and the stratified rock, resting upon 
its flanks. "In a great many instances it 
happens that part of the springs rise from 
granite, and part from the slate or limestone 
in connection with it." Thus, as Dr. Dau- 
beny remarks, the same agent which forced 
up the granite through the axis of the chain, 
may have given rise to the hot springs 
which accompany it, just along the line of 
disruption. He points out a similar geolo- 
gical character of the rocks w r hence issue 
the thermal waters of Dauphiny, Savoy, 
Valais, and Upper Piedmont, and, also, the 
17 



194 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

interesting fact of the contiguity of some 
springs to remarkable dislocations of the 
strata. Examples of this nature are pre- 
sented at Aix, Carlsbad, Pfeffers, and other 
thermal springs in Switzerland ; and at Clif- 
ton and Matlock, in England.* 

These views are strongly corroborated by 
the situation of the thermal waters in the 
beautiful mountain region of "Western Vir- 
ginia, which Dr. D. visited in 1838. Dr. 
Wm. B. Eogers has given his views on the 
subject in a paper entitled "The Connection 
of Thermal Springs with Anticlinal Axes 
and Faults." In common, with GL Bischof, 
Dr. E. believes that the expletive, thermal, is 
applicable to springs whose temperature ex- 
ceeds that of the atmospheric mean of the 
region in which they are situated. He then 
expresses his conviction, based on his own 
observations made from time to time, during 
a period of eight years, that a great propor- 
tion of the copious and constant springs of 
the vast belt of mountains occupied by the 

* Description of Active and Extinct Volcanoes, of 
Earthquakes, and of Thermal Springs. 



ANTICLINAL AXES. 195 

Appalachian range, especially those of the 
great limestone valley of Virginia, "are truly, 
though slightly, thermal, and that they owe 
to a deep subterranean source, the remark- 
able uniformity of temperature they exhibit." 
His notices on the present occasion are, how- 
ever, restricted to those which are decidedly 
and unequivocally thermal. 

Of the fifty-six springs enumerated by Dr. 
Kogers, embracing twenty-five distinct lines, 
and individual localities, situated in various 
and remote parts of the valley, and the 
mountainous belt adjoining it, on the north- 
west, making, in all, an area of about fifteen 
thousand square miles, forty-six springs are 
situated on or adjacent to anticlinal axes, 
seven on or near lines of faults and inversion, 
and three, the only group of this kind yet 
known in Virginia, close to the point of 
junction of the Appalachian with the Hypo- 
gene (primitive) rocks. 

This author thinks himself justified in an- 
nouncing the prevailing law in reference to 
the more decided thermal springs of Virginia; 
and he believes that in the other parts of the 
Appalachian belt, they issue from the lines of 



196 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

anticlinal axes, or from points very near such 
lines. He introduces sections with suitable 
explanations confirmatory of the above views, 
and at the same time imparting just concep- 
tions of the geological structure of the dis- 
tricts in which the thermal waters are situ- 
ated. 

The celebrated White Sulphur Spring is 
regarded by Dr. Eogers as decidedly thermal, 
for, although fluctuating in temperature, its 
waters, he thinks, never indicate less than 
ten degrees above the atmospheric mean. 

While agreeing in some respects with the 
views so ably advocated by Dr. Daubeny, in 
relation to the evolution of the gases, and to 
other matters associated with thermal waters, 
the Virginia professor is not, by any means, 
prepared to adopt the hypothesis of the 
chemical action of the metallic bases of the 
alkalies and earths, nor to accede to the 
opinion that the heat of our thermal springs, 
as well as that of the rocks from which it is 
directly derived, is due to what is usually 
termed volcanic action. 

In explaining the phenomena of thermal 
waters, we ought, he very properly argues, 



WARM SPRINGS — BATH COUNTY, 197 

to try and do it by explaining the chemical 
properties of the rocks, in connection with a 
generally diffused internal heat. He directs 
attention to the almost entire absence, over the 
vast surface of the Appalachian region, of ig- 
neous or volcanic rocks ; and sees in the pecu- 
liar position of our thermals in reference to 
axes, simply those mechanical conditions which 
favor the access of air and water to the deeper 
seated, and, therefore, hot strata in the interior, 
and their expulsion at the surface. 

As bearing on the subject now before us, 
it may be well to state, for the information 
of the reader, that, as we learn from Captain 
Newbold, a majority of the springs of India 
which can be strictly called thermal, occur 
at or near lines of great faults, occasioned by 
the upheaving of plutonic rocks. A similar 
remark may be extended to some of the hot 
springs of Asia Minor. 

Warm Springs. — They are situated in a 
valley in the county of Bath, between two 
ranges of mountains, one hundred and 
seventy miles from Eichmond, and fifty from 
Staunton, on the turnpike road which leads 
to the Ohio. There is not a more delightful 
17* 



198 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

natural warm bath to be found in any part 
of the world than is obtained in the reservoir 
which receives the water of the chief spring. 
Its temperature, at first 98° F., is soon re- 
duced to 96°; and for mere luxurious enjoy- 
ment it would merit a visit from Hudson's 
Bay, not to speak of Canada or New Eng- 
land. The large bath is of an octagonal 
form, 38 feet in diameter, and, on an average, 
five feet deep. Nitrogen is largely evolved, 
and in small quantities carbonic acid and 
sulphuretted hydrogen gases. The solid 
contents are in small quantity; not twenty 
four grains in a gallon of the water. In ad- 
dition to the large octagonal bath, there are 
now a ladies' bath and a spout bath, and also 
a cold plunging bath near the chief warm 
one. The quantity of water given out by 
the warm spring has been estimated to be a 
thousand gallons a minute. 

All that has been said of the enjoyment 
from warm bathing, and its utility in a long 
list of diseases, is applicable to the external 
use of the Warm Spring water. Adequate 
attention is not paid to the systematic use, 
internally, of this water, which, although 



WARM SPRINGS IN DISEASE. 199 

possessed of little mineral strength, might 
be made a powerful and an efficacious auxil- 
iary to the bath. In plethoric and inflamma- 
tory states of the system, and with a tendency 
to cerebral determination and excitement, 
caution must be displayed in the large or 
prolonged employment of this double re- 
medy; for, although the temperature is such 
as to bring it within the limits of the warm 
bath, it comes so near the hot as to prove, in 
some cases, a stimulant, and, as such, it is 
not to be trifled with under the circumstances 
just mentioned. 

The house at the springs is one of the 
best. 

If we wish to appreciate at their full value 
the remedial virtues of methodical bathing at 
the "Warm Springs" in Virginia, we ought 
to learn the results from long and recorded 
experience of the use of the bath of nearly 
the same temperature at the warm springs of 
Wildbad in Germany. On this point I have 
written elsewhere, in some detail, as the 
reader may satisfy himself by reference to 
my volume on Baths and the Watery Begimen, 
in which will be found an enumeration of the 



200 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

diseases successfully treated by a course of 
bathing at Wildbad. Objection will not, I 
suppose, be made to my repeating, in part, 
what is said in that work. 

" Paralysis, both of the lower extremities 
and of one side of the body, has been, in 
many cases, entirely removed by a course of 
bathing at "Wildbad. Before any ameliora- 
tion takes place, the patient generally expe- 
riences some pricking pains and tinglings 
in the paralyzed parts, followed by a sense 
of heat, perspiration, and increase of feeling. 
To these symptoms succeed a gradual resto- 
ration of muscular power, accompanied by a 
sense of electrical shocks passing along the 
nerves. 

" Paralytic persons, of a full or plethoric 
habit, or whose circulation is active, should 
watch the effects of the warm bath, and 
make, at first, but moderate use of it. 

" The baths at Wildbad are lauded for their 
remedial powers in affections of the joints, 
white swellings, and contractions ; and, also, 
in lumbago and sciatica. 

" Diseases of the skin are, in a more espe- 



WILDBAD WATERS. 201 

cial manner, overcome by these baths. Those 
specified are, herpes, prurigo, ptyriasis, acne, 
inveterate itch, fetid perspirations, &c. 

"The baths at Wildbad, conjoined with 
the internal use of the water, at a tempera- 
ture of 92° F., are efficacious in scrofula and 
chronic affections of the glands generally, 
including enlargements of the liver, spleen, 
and mesenteric glands. 

" The water of Wildbad, like that of Wis- 
baden and Leuk, may be regarded as a pure 
thermal water. 

" In chlorosis and sterility, not depending 
on organic affections of the uterus or ovaries, 
the Wildbad baths have displayed excellent 
effects. 

" ' The Wildbad baths are celebrated for 
the removal of those various pains and aches 
which not seldom attend old gunshot and 
other wounds. A case is related of an officer 
who had been wounded in the arm by a 
musket-ball, in the late war, and who was 
harassed by pains in the site of the wound 
many years afterwards. The "use of the 
Wildbad baths reopened the wound, from 



202 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

whence a piece of flannel was discharged, 
and the pain ceased.'* 

" Counter -indications to the use of the Warm 
Bath. — From its effects in retarding the cir- 
culation, the warm bath is not adapted to the 
plethoric, nor to those suffering from active 
congestion of the great viscera, or from hem- 
orrhage, which is so generally associated with 
congestion. Hence, its use is not proper for 
the apoplectieally disposed, nor for those who 
labor under cardiac aneurism, or a varicose 
state of the vessels generally. The habitually 
feeble, and they who have been weakened by 
violent disease, will, also, -avoid the warm 
bath, unless they have, at the same time, a 
febricula or febrile irritation, which this 
remedy will remove. The tonic effects 
which I attribute to the warm bath, are indi- 
rect, and depend on its abating excessive ex- 
citement or irritation, and unless these states 
are present, its contra-stimulant action will 
only increase the existing debility. 

" In all cases of doubtful propriety, or in 
which a trial is about to be made of the 

* Johnson — Pilgrimages to the Spas, &c. 



THE BATH AT WILDBAD. 203 

warm bath, as a means of cure, the immer- 
sion, at first, should be for a brief period — 
five to ten or fifteen minutes." 

And again I have said, " At our own, as 
at the German thermal springs, the good 
effects of the bathing may be increased by 
drinking of the water, which is slightly lax- 
ative and diuretic, and more evidently dia- 
phoretic. 

" Making some allowances for a lively 
imagination, Dr. Granville's* account of his 
sensations in the bath at Wildbad, may very 
well be received as descriptive of those en- 
joyed by a bather in the Warm Springs of 
Virginia. He writes as follows: 'After de- 
scending a few steps from the dressing-room 
into the bath-room, I walked over the warm 
soft sand to the farthest end of the bath, and 
I laid myself down upon it, near the princi- 
pal spring, resting my head on a clean 
wooden pillow. The soothing effect of the 
water as it came over me, up to the throat, 
transparent like the brightest gem or aqua- 
marine, soft, genially warm, and gently mur- 

* Spas of Germany. 



204 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

muring, I shall never forget. Millions of 
bubbles of gas rose from the sand, and play- 
ed around me, quivering through the lucid 
water as they ascended, and bursting at the 
surface to be succeeded by others. The sen- 
sations produced by these, as many of them, 
with their tremulous motion, just effleuraient 
the surface of the body, like the much-vaunt- 
ed effect of titillation in animal magnetism, 
is not to be described. It partakes of tran- 
quillity and exhilaration ; of the ecstatic state of 
a devotee, blended icith the repose of an opium- 
eater. The head is calm, the heart is calm, every 
sense is calm ; yet there is neither drowsiness, 
stupefaction, nor numbness ; for every feeling is 
fresher, and the memory of worldly pleasures 
keen and sharp. But the operations of the 
moral as well as physical man are under the 
spell of some powerfully tranquillizing agent. 
It is the human tempest lulled into all the 
delicious playings of the ocean's after- waves. 
From such a position I willingly would never 
have stirred. To prolong its delicious 
effects, what w T ould I not have given ! but 
the badmeister appeared at the top of the 
steps of the farther door, and warned me to 



SOCIAL BATHING AT LEUK. 205 

eschew the danger of my situation ; for there 
is danger even in such pleasures as these, if 
greatly prolonged. 

" 4 I looked at the watch and the thermo- 
meter before I quitted my station. The one 
told me I had passed a whole hour in the 
few minutes I had spent according to my 
imagination, and the other marked 29J° of 
Eeaumur, or 98J° of Fahrenheit. But I 
found the temperature warmer than that, 
whenever, with my hand, I dug into the bed 
of sand, as far down as the rock, and disen- 
gaged myriads of bubbles of heated air, 
which imparted to the skin a satiny softness 
not to be observed in the effects of ordinary 
warm baths.' " 

At Leuk, or Loeche, in the Valais, four 
of the baths supplied by hot water, from 
112° F. to 124° F., are brought down to the 
temperatures respectively of 95°, 96°, 98°, 
and 99° F. In them a number of bathers of 
both sexes, suitably attired after a strictly 
regulated costume, spend hours at a time, 
engaged the while in conversation, read- 
ing, chess, sewing, taking tea, &c. Count- 
ing the two periods of bathing, the first in 
18 



206 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

the morning and the second in the afternoon, 
the whole time spent in the bath daily is 
from two to eight hours. The ordinary pe- 
riod of bathing, or cure, as it is called, is 
twenty-five days. Two or more seasons are 
often deemed requisite for a single cure. 
The water is used internally as well as ex- 
ternally, sometimes in conjunction with the 
bath, sometimes by itself. The time of 
drinking is in the morning, fasting. The 
quantity drunk is from two to ten glasses, 
with an interval of between ten and fifteen 
minutes between each two. 

There are eighteen or twenty large public 
baths, varying in size from eight feet by 
eleven, to eighteen by thirty, and each capa- 
ble of containing from fifteen to thirty-five 
persons, according to its size. Smaller ones 
hold from four to six. 

It may be a question how far the leuker- 
bad should be imitated in our thermal springs, 
by invalids laboring under a certain class or 
classes of infirmities and disorders. I have 
mentioned, in my volume, other places in 
which this bathing in company is practised. 
A description is also given of the plan of 



TRANSITION BATHIXG. 207 

Pomme, who directed his patients to spend 
many hours a day in the bath. I shall not 
repeat here what was said in that work of 
the several diseases for the cure of which 
the warm bath is resorted to. 

In dwelling on the luxurious and salutary 
effects of the bath at the Warm Springs, we 
must not forget the internal use of the water, 
to which allusion has been already made. It 
acts on the skin, kidneys, and glandular or- 
gans generally, and in this way, with the ad- 
dition of a slight aperient operation, it ope- 
rates as a gentle but efficient alterative in 
irritable as well as in atonic dyspepsia, and 
restores suspended, and removes perverted 
secretions, as well hepatic and uterine as 
cutaneous. To derive the fullest effects from 
the water as a drink, its use in this way 
ought to be aided by the bath. The quantity 
will vary from two (half-pint) glasses to six 
or even eight glasses daily. 

A cold bath plentifully supplied, adjoin- 
ing the gentlemen's warm bath, allows of 
transition bathing, of which I have spoken 
in my other work On Baths, &c. Some- 
times, for hygienic comfort, sometimes in 



208 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

disease under suitable directions, this plan 
merits occasional trials. The fever of reac- 
tion from bathing in the Wildbad water, 
spoken of as a matter of course by most 
German and some English writers on the 
" Spas," has been too much dwelt on. We 
are not to look for its frequent occurrence in 
our " Warm Spring" baths. 

Hot Springs. — These springs are situated 
five miles west of the Warm, and in the same 
county of Bath. The hotel and cabins have 
little in their appearance to recommend them, 
but the table is good. The water of the 
baths— six in number — is from 98° to 106° 
F., and it is so distributed as to allow of its 
use by immersion in the common way, and 
by the douche or spout. Dr. Goode, the 
proprietor, exercises a general supervision. 
As no person in his senses ought to take a 
hot bath, in common health or for mere plea- 
sure, these waters are resorted to by the sick 
and invalid, and hence there is not the crowd 
at the Hot which is so common at the other 
springs, especially the White Sulphur. 

They are too powerful to be had recourse 
to except under medical guidance. As ex- 
citants of the first class, they are only adapted 



ENGLISH BATH WATERS. 209 

to diseases of functional debility, without 
inflammation or active congestion, or fever. In 
chronic rheumatism and gout, and in chronic 
stomachic and intestinal diseases, in which 
the circulation is languid and the skin cold or 
clammy, and tongue moist, and there is an 
absence of thirst, the hot bath and hot douche 
and drinking the hot water display, often, won- 
derfully restorative powers. So, also, in tumid 
livers and spleens after a subsidence of fever 
and phlogosis, in paralysis where the brain 
has recovered its functions, and in stiff and 
anchylosed joints and indolent and scrofulous 
tumors, old ulcers and chronic diseases of 
the skin, especially of the scaly kind, these 
means deserve a full trial. The application 
of hot water by douching adds greatly to its 
power. 

Nine-tenths of the patients who resort to 
hot bathing at Bath, England, the tempera- 
ture of the water being upwards of 100° F., 
are paralytic. Of these, more than two- 
thirds are either cured or receive great benefit. 
All these patients were bathed twice a week, 
and many of them three times. The mode 
of bathing consisted in immersion, and douch- 
18* 



210 MIXER AL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

ing with the aid of thorough friction and sham- 
pooing. The exciting and diaphoretic effects 
of the bath are greatly increased by drinking 
the water. Hot douches or spout bathing is 
an important variety of the hot bath, and adds 
greatly to its effects, whether for good or evil. 
The internal use of the water of the Hot 
Springs, like that of every other hot water, 
is attended with excitement of the circulation 
and nervous system, amounting to a kind of 
inebriation. Often it will be found, when 
drunk in the quantity of half a pint to a pint 
in the evening, to induce sleep in the pre- 
viously wakeful and restless. "Where a gene- 
ral stimulant is required, the effects of which 
we can, in a great degree, measure in advance, 
this water may be had recourse to with great 
advantage — as, for example, in gastralgia and 
enteralgia, in weakened states of the stomach 
and bowels without fever or inflammation, 
and often accompanied by chronic diarrhoea 
and dysentery, and especially if the skin be 
habitually cold at the same time. The free use 
of hot water as a drink, aided by the warm 
and on occasions the hot bath, will replace, 
to the great comfort and lasting benefit of 



STAY AT THE HOT SPRINGS. 211 

the patient, all the drugs from the shop. 
jSTot only by its direct action on the digestive 
canal, as a mild aperient, but also by second- 
ary action on the skin as a diaphoretic, will it 
give early relief and often entirely cure these 
diseases. In other cases, where no pains are 
taken to aid its diaphoretic operation by ex- 
ternal warmth, it determines to the kidneys 
and increases their secretion. As a diluent 
and a soothing stimulant it will be often found 
of service in paroxysms of calculous disease, 
both renal and vesical, and particularly of 
the lithic acid variety. Dr. Falconer, in speak- 
ing of the Bath water as a drink, calls it 
antispasmodic, attenuant, antacid, expecto- 
rant and emmenagogue, sometimes inducing 
constipation, sometimes acting as an aperient; 
and he extols its use in diabetes when all 
other medicines, even the astringents had 
failed ; also in dropsy from suppressed per- 
spiration, and in hepatic obstructions, includ- 
ing those from biliary calculi. 

A period of a month to six weeks would be 
required to give full effect, in many diseases, 
to the use of the Hot Spring water by drink- 
ing and bathing. The quantity to be taken 



212 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

as a drink will vary with the case and the 
degree of excitement following its use. As 
an alterative, from three to six half pints in 
the day, taken before meals and in the eve- 
ning, will be sufficient. As a diaphoretic, to 
produce copious and continued sweating, 
with confinement of the patient to bed, it 
may be drunk more freely. The use of this 
water is contra-indicated in hypertrophy of 
the heart, aneurism, general and especially 
cerebral plethora, in hemorrhages actual or 
threatened in either sex, and in inflammation 
or fever of any violence ; also during preg- 
nancy. 

THE GROUP OF SULPHUR SPRINGS. 

On leaving the Hot Springs, the traveller 
reaches, after a journey of thirty-five miles in 
a southwestern direction, the White Sulphur 
Springs ; and if he continue on westwardly, 
he comes to the Blue Sulphur, distant twenty- 
two miles from the White. The Salt Sul- 
phur Springs are twenty-four miles southwest 
from the White, and the Eed Sulphur are 
seventeen miles farther on in the same direc- 
tion. This is not the place to speak of the 



GROUP OF SULPHUR SPRINGS. 213 

geological relations of these several springs, 
nor to inquire how far they are all referable 
to the class of what have been called, of late, 
by some, Secondary or Accidental Sulphu- 
reous Springs, in contrast with those of the 
Pyrenees, chiefly thermal, by the way, which 
alone are thought to belong to the class of 
the Natural or Primary Sulphureous. For 
the latter has been claimed a therapeutic 
energy by no means proportionate to the 
amount of their constituent principles ; and 
hence some of them, with only a half or even 
a fourth of those contained in the secondary 
class, will, we are told, display much more 
curative power. These are points on which 
I can only enlarge with advantage in my 
larger work. 

Whatever result may be reached in an in- 
quiry of this kind, no one can contest the 
really curative virtues of the waters of this 
entire group ; at the same time, no one will 
deny that they are all endowed with such 
therapeutical energy that they must be either 
beneficial or mischievous, according to the 
wisdom of the prescriber in adapting their 
use to meet the requisite indications. No 



214 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

visitor at a sulphur spring can gorge himself 
with the waters, for experiment or amuse- 
ment, with impunity. In fact, few remedies 
are as diffusive in their action on the animal 
frame, or as searching and alterative on* the 
tissues, as the sulphureous. But, in order to 
produce their full and salutary effects, they 
ought to be administered in quantities, or 
doses, of moderate strength and for a length- 
ened period, and in that state of dilution in 
which they are found in mineral springs. 
By this means we shall avoid, in a great 
measure, that excitement and disturbance of 
function, resulting from the common indis- 
criminate use of the waters, which not seldom 
constitutes a disease itself, or brings back 
with aggravation the original malady they 
were intended to remove. Some, particularly 
the German physicians, insist on the necessity 
of a morbid reaction of this kind, which they 
call bad-storm or commotion, especially after 
the prolonged use of baths of a high tem- 
perature. Were we to admit this, it ought 
to be regarded as a conclusive reason for a 
longer time being taken and greater patience 
displayed by the invalid, and more watchful 



WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS. 215 

superintendence on the part of the physician, 
than are conceded for the treatment of a case 
of chronic disease at any of the sulphur 
springs. To do full, we ought rather to say 
common, justice to such a case, the methodical 
and regular use of the bath, together with 
drinking of the water, must be enjoined. 

White Sulphur Springs. — Experience has 
pretty well established the fact of the water 
of the White Sulphur Springs, on Howard's 
Creek, the original White Sulphur of Green- 
brier County, being the strongest, most ac- 
tive, and stimulating, and therefore, when 
misapplied, the most mischievous of the 
group, and the one which requires the great- 
est caution in its use. These matters will 
be regulated by physicians on the spot. 
Among them, Dr. Moorman has given us 
the result of his now somewhat long expe- 
rience of the remedial value of the White 
Sulphur water, in a small volume, entitled 
The Virginia Springs. He, or some other 
permanently resident physician, ought to be 
consulted by all the invalids, who propose 
to make use of the water of the White Sul- 



216 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

phur. The temperature of this water, 57°, 
as stated by some, and 62° F., according to 
Dr. Moorman, is several degrees higher than 
that of the common springs of the district, 
and makes it rank, in strictness, in the ther- 
mal class. 

The chief, or the White Sulphur Spring, is 
at an elevation of two thousand feet above the 
level of the ocean. "It bursts with unusual 
boldness from rock-lined apertures, and is in- 
closed by marble casements five feet square, 
and three and a half feet deep." It yields, con- 
tinues Dr. Moorman, about eighteen gallons 
per minute ; and it is a remarkable fact that 
this quantity is not perceptibly increased or 
diminished during the longest period of wet 
or dry weather. While other springs of the 
country have failed during the long draughts 
of summer, this has invariably preserved 
" the even tenor of its way." 

" The water is most clear and transparent, 
and deposits copiously, as it flows over a 
rough and uneven surface, a white, and some- 
times, under peculiar circumstances, a red and 
black precipitate, composed in part of its 
saline ingredients. Its taste and smell, fresh 
at the spring, are that of all waters strongly 



PROPERTIES OF THE WATER. 217 

impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen gas. 
When removed from the spring, and kept in 
an open vessel for a sufficient length of time 
for this gas to escape, or, when it has been 
heated or frozen for this purpose, it becomes 
essentially tasteless, and inodorous, and could 
scarcely be distinguished either by smell or 
taste, from common limestone water. Its 
cathartic activity, however, is rather increased 
than diminished when thus insipid and in- 
odorous.* It does not lose its transparency 
by parting with its gas, as many other waters 
do ; nor does it deposit its salts in the slight- 
est degree when quiescent — not even suffi- 
ciently to stain a glass vessel in which it may 
be kept. 

" The gas of this spring is speedily fatal to 
some animals, when immersed even for a very 
short time in its waters. Small fish thus cir- 
cumstanced, survive but a few moments ; 
first, manifesting entire derangements, with 
great distress, and uniformly die in less than 
three minutes." 

* See Chapter V. — On "The relative virtues of the 
saline and gaseous contents of the White Sulphur water." 

19 



218 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

The analyses of the White Sulphur water, 
by Dr. Hayes and Prof. Wm, B. Eogers, would 
not induce, a priori, a very great confidence in 
the therapeutical activity of these waters. 
The proportion of solid contents in the ana- 
lysis by Dr. Hayes, of a pint of the water, 
is 16.57 grains; and in that by Prof. Eogers 
nearly the same ; of which the sulphate of 
magnesia makes 4.32 grains in the former, 
and about 3 grains in the latter analysis. 

Dr. E. finds about 1.5 grains of sulphate of 
soda, Dr. H. none. The largest ingredient 
is the sulphate of lime, being about 18 or 19 
grains. The carbonates of magnesia and 
lime, and the chlorides of magnesium, cal- 
cium, and sodium, are in very minute propor- 
tions, or small fractions of a grain, in a pint 
of the water examined by Dr. Eogers. Dr. 
Hayes makes no mention of the chlorides of 
calcium or of sodium, nor of the protosul- 
phates of alumina or of iron, found by Dr. 
E. ; but he reports silica and the silicates of 
potash, soda, and magnesia, and a trace of 
iron. 

As regards the gaseous contents, one is sur- 
prised to find such a minute proportion of 



CONSTITUENTS OF THE WATER. 219 

sulphuretted hydrogen, very little more than 
a quarter of a cubic inch in a gallon of the 
water, according to Dr. Hayes, and not more 
than from 1.40 to 2.75 cubic inches by Dr. 
Rogers's analysis. Carbonic acid was in the 
proportion of 11.290 by the former, and 7.75 
by the latter of these gentlemen's analysis. 
Iodine combined with sodium and magnesium 
has been found by Dr. Rogers, who reports 
also azotized organic matter blended with a 
large proportion of sulphur. 

Had the matter been undertaken by less 
able analytical chemists, we might suppose 
that there exists in the water a sulphuret, say 
of sodium, still undetected, which might give 
some explanation of the clinical results ob- 
tained by its methodical use. 

Having dwelt with some care on the reme- 
dial value of sulphureous waters, both inter- 
nally and externally, when speaking of those 
of New York, I shall not go over the ground 
again here; but would refer the reader to 
what was said on that occasion, as applicable 
to his guidance at the White Sulphur and 
most of the other sulphur springs of Virginia. 
I cannot, however, forbear, even though it 



220 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

may involve some repetition, from introduc- 
ing Dr. Moorman's sensible remarks on the 
use of this water, to the effects of which he 
has directed his attention for some years 
past : — 

" All mineral waters, as before remarked, 
are stimulants to a greater or less degree, and 
consequently are inapplicable to the treatment 
of acute, or highly inflammatory diseases. 
This remark is especially true as relates to 
the White Sulphur, particularly when drank 
fresh at the spring and abounding in its stimu- 
lating gas. It is true, as before shown, that 
when its exciting gas has flown off, it becomes 
far less stimulating, and may be used with 
safety and success in cases to which, in its 
perfectly fresh state, it would be totally un- 
adapted. But even in its least stimulating 
form, it is inadmissible for excited or febrile 
conditions of the system; and especially in 
cases of inflammatory action ; at least, until 
the violence of such action has been subdued 
by other and appropriate agents. 

" It is to chronic affections of the organic 
system that the White Sulphur water is pecu- 
liarly applicable. 



I 
MEDICAL USES OF THE WATER. 221 

? Various diseases of the stomach, liver, 
spleen, kidneys, and bladder, as well as some 
derangements of the brain and nervous sys- 
tem generally, are treated successfully by this 
agent. To the various affections of the skin, 
unattended with active inflammation; to 
chronic affections of the bowels, and to gout 
and rheumatism it is well adapted. In he- 
morrhoids, in some of the chronic affections 
of the womb, in chlorosis and other kindred 
female disorders, in mercurial sequelae, and 
especially in the secondary forms of lues, and 
ill-conditioned ulcers in depraved constitu- 
tions, it constitutes the most valuable agent 
to which the invalid can resort. 

"If the individual about to submit himself 
to the use of this water, is suffering from 
fulness and tension about the head, or pain 
with a sense of tightness in the chest or side, 
he should obtain relief from these symptoms 
before entering upon its use. If his tongue 
be white, or heavily coated; or if he be con- 
tinuously or periodically feverish, or have 
that peculiar lassitude, with gastric distress, 
manifesting recent or acute biliary accumu- 
19* 



222 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

lations, he should avoid its use until, by pro- 
per medical treatment, his biliary organs are 
emulged, and his system prepared for its re- 
ception. Much suffering, on the one hand, 
would be avoided, and a far larger amount 
of good, on the other, would be achieved, if 
visitors were perfectly aware of, and carefully 
mindful of these facts. 

" It is an every day occurrence during the 
watering season at the l White/ for persons 
to seek medical advice, for the first time, after 
they have been using the water for days, per- 
haps, for weeks, and it is then sought because 
of vagrant operations, or injurious effects of 
the water. In most such cases, there will be 
found, upon examination, either the existence 
of some of the symptoms just mentioned, or 
evidences of local inflammation in some part 
of the body, sufficient to prevent the consti- 
tutional efficacy of the remedy. We are 
often struck with the control which an appa- 
rently inconsiderable local inflammation will 
exert in preventing the constitutional effects 
both of mercurials and mineral waters. To 
remove such local determinations where they 
exist, or greatly to lessen their activity, is all 



THE WATER IN OTHER DISEASES. 223 

important to secure the constitutional effects 
of sulphur water." 

Dr. M. farther enumerates, as coming under 
the benign influence of the White Sulphur wa- 
ter, dyspepsia, including gastralgia and pyro- 
sis, chronic diseases of the liver and spleen, 
jaundice, chronic irritation of the bowels, dis- 
eases of the urinary organs, and diabetes. He 
thinks less of its value in amenorrhoea, dys- 
menorrhcea, and atonic leucorrhoea. When 
resorted to in these cases, the use of warm 
sulphur baths ought to be conjoined. In 
chronic affections of the brain, bordering on 
mania, and most remarkably in chronic cuta- 
neous affections, also, in rheumatism and gout 
in their chronic states, and in scrofula, drop- 
sies, and mercurial diseases, the water has 
been found to possess great virtues. 



224: MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Red Sulphur — Salt Sulphur — Sweet Sulphur — Blue Sul- 
phur — Sweet Springs — Red Sweet Springs — Healing 
Springs — DibrelPs — Rawley's — Holstein — Church- 
Hill Alum — Huguenot. 

Red Sulphur Spring — in Monroe County, 
42 miles from the White Sulphur, 39 from 
the Sweet Springs, 32 miles from the Blue 
Sulphur, and 17 from the Salt Sulphur. 
This spring furnishes a water which is the 
mildest of the group, and perhaps of its 
class ; and it has even been regarded by 
some as sedative in its operation on the 
animal economy, although this is a con- 
tested point. If it act as a sedative, it does 
so probably in an indirect or secondary 
manner, as explained in a previous chapter. 
But still more, it has been extolled for its 
power to cure pulmonary consumption itself. 
Instances are recorded of its effects on the 
action of the heart, so as to reduce the beats 
of this organ from upwards of 100, and 



RED SULPHUR WATERS. 225 

even 120 and 130, to 70 and 65 in a minute. 
Drinking of it allays thirst and causes sleep. 
That it has really a soothing and salutary 
effect in tracheal and bronchial irritation 
seems to be pretty evident ; but of its curing 
consumption we have, I believe, no well au- 
thenticated proof. It will not probably ag- 
gravate this disease, as the water of the 
White Sulphur does. For details of the 
operation and curative powers of the Eed 
Sulphur, the reader is referred to the work 
of Dr. Burke on "The Mineral Springs of 
Virginia." This writer gives a tolerably 
comprehensive list of diseases in which the reel 
sulphur water has been found available, viz: 
chronic laryngitis, chronic bronchitis, hemo- 
ptysis, chronic phthisis, functional disease of 
the liver, hypertrophy of the heart, mucous 
diarrhoea, irritability of the nerves with 
sleeplessness, irritation of the kidneys and 
bladder, lithic acid gravel, chronic hepatitis, 
amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhcea, menorrhagia, 
chronic splenitis, chronic gastritis, hemor- 
rhoids, scrofula and chronic exanthemata. It 
is contraindicated in plethora, tendency to 
apoplexy, and in epilepsy, vertigo, and the 
acute stages of disease. 



226 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

In a former work, published twentj^five 
3^ears ago, I pointed out the then alleged 
efficacy of this water in hemoptysis, and in 
reducing vascular excitement. 

Drinking from nine to twelve and sixteen 
tumblerfuls of the water, on successive days, 
caused at first a diuretic and a diaphoretic, 
and, when continued to the fifth day, pro- 
duced bilious evacuation "as much," writes 
one writer (Dr. Scott, of Lexington, Va.), "as 
I ever experienced from an active portion of 
calomel." Dr. Hayes and Dr. Wm. B. Eogers 
attribute much of the good effects of the 
water to an organic matter found in it and 
many other springs. Dr. Hayes calls it a 
sulphur compound. 

On analysis, Dr. Hayes found 50,000 grains 
of this water (nearly seven pints) to contain 
of solid matters — 

Grains. 
Siiicious and earthy matter . . .6.70 

Sulphate of soda . . . . 3.55 

Sulphate of lime 0.47 

Carbonate of lime . . . . .4.50 
Carbonate of magnesia . . . .4.13 

Sulphur compound 7.20 

Carbonic acid . . . . . .2.71 

23.26 



CONTENTS OF THE RED SULPHUR. 227 

The same quantity of water exhibited, of 
dissolved gases, the following : — 

Carbonic acid 1.245 

Nitrogen 1.497 

Oxygen 260 

Hydrosulphuric acid 86 

3.088 

The gaseous contents of a gallon, or 281 
cubic inches, of the Eecl Sulphur water were 
as follows: — 

Carbonic acid 5.750 

Nitrogen 6.916 

Oxygen . . . . . . 1.201 

Sulphuretted hydrogen .... 0.397 

14.264 
There is no free carbonic acid. 

We may doubt the propriety of introduc- 
ing in the record of an analysis, as has been 
done above, a sulphur compound, the con- 
stituent parts of which are not known. M. 
Fontan, in his valuable work on the mineral 
waters of the Pyrenees,* shows that the 
baregine or glairine — the organic matter or 

* Ptecherches sur les Eaus Minerales des Pyrenees, 
&c, 1855. 



22 S MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

sulphur compound found in sulphureous 
waters — consists of two distinct parts: 1st. 
Baregine, properly so called, an azotized and 
gelatiniform substance; and 2d. Sirfphuraria, 
a vegetable confervoid in close affinity with 
the genus anabaina in the oscillariaa tribe. 
"When the sulphuraria is exposed to direct 
light, and its white pearly color changed in 
consequence, there are developed in the fila- 
mentous masses which it forms, some other 
confervoid plant, whose characters are not 
yet fully ascertained. 

As regards the part which the baregine 
may be supposed to perform therapeutically, 
we learn that although, in the Pyrenean 
springs, it is always in proportion to the 
amount of the sulphureous principles, it con- 
stitutes, in fact, no part of them. They con- 
sist mainly and chiefly of sulphur combined 
with sodium in the form of a sulphuret; 
and secondarily, in much less degree, of sul- 
phuretted hydrogen. Sulphur deposited 
with the filamentous structure, is merely so 
much abstracted from the water, which cer- 
tainly is not more active in consequence. 
M. Fontan proposes to give the name of 



SALT SULPHUR SPRINGS. 229 

pyrenine to the substance heretofore called 
baregine or glairine. 

Salt Sulphur Springs. — The designation of 
salt is hardly justified by the very minute 
quantity of chloride of sodium which enters 
into the composition of these waters. It 
contains larger proportions of sulphates of 
soda and magnesia. The temperature varies 
from 49° to 56° F. As more aperient and 
diuretic than some others of its class, the 
Salt Sulphur, though it must still be ranked 
as an excitant, is applicable to mixed cases of 
febricula and languor, as in chronic dyspep- 
sia and renal affections, and chronic diar- 
rhoea; in some of which the frequency of 
the pulse has been diminished under its use. 
The water of the "New Spring," with a 
smaller proportion of saline matters has more 
evident traces of iodine than the "Old 
Spring.' 7 

Analyses of the waters of the Salt Sulphur 
Springs have been made by Dr. Eogers, of 
Va., and Dr. David Stewart, of Baltimore. In 
both, the sulphate of lime figures largely; but 
the chloride of sodium in very small propor- 
tion — a grain and a half in the gallon of 
20 



230 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

water, according to Dr. S. While there 
is an agreement between the two chemists 
in regard to the gases in this water, the pro- 
portions which they give are very different. 
Thus, while Dr. Eogers finds only 3.46 cubic 
inches of sulphuretted hydrogen, Dr. Stewart 
reports 19.19 of this gas, in a gallon of the 
water. The latter gentleman specifies in 
this quantity of water 20 grains of sulphate 
of magnesia, 24 grains of sulphate of soda, 
and 33 grains of carbonate of lime. 

Of the other springs, the Iodine or New 
Spring is the more active. Its water con- 
tains iodine, bromine, carbonates of potash 
and of soda, alumen and phosphate of soda, 
compounds not found in the other spring or 
Salt Sulphur proper. 

Dr. Moorman,* after referring to some pre- 
cautionary advice of Dr. Mutter, w r ho has 
written an instructive pamphlet on the sub- 
ject of these waters, repeats the opinions of 
the latter gentleman in the following terms: — 

"But in chronic affections of the brain, in 
neuralgia and nervous diseases generally; 
in some affections of the chest, particularly 

* Op. cit. 



BLUE SULPHUR SPRINGS. 231 

such as are brought on from the retrocession 
of some habitual discharge ; in chronic affec- 
tions of the kidneys and bladder ; in rheu- 
matism and gout, and in many diseases of 
the skin, it is among the most valuable of 
our remedial agents. The same may be said 
of its value in mercurial sequelae — in hemor- 
rhoidal affections, and in some of the chronic 
diseases of the womb. 

"In the various and multiform diseases 
affecting the abdominal viscera — such as he- 
patitis, jaundice, gastritis, pyrosis, dyspepsia, 
and some forms of diarrhoea, the Salt Sul- 
phur is one of the most valuable of our reme- 
dial agents. 

" The result of our own observations for 
many years, leads us to entertain a very high 
opinion of the salt sulphur water in dyspep- 
sia — and particularly in cases connected with 
obstinate costiveness." 

The Blue Sulphur Springs (Greenbrier 
County) are thirty-two miles from the Eed 
Sulphur, and nearly the same distance from 
the Salt Sulphur Springs, and twenty-two 
miles from the Sweet. Eesembling in their 
chemical properties those of the White Sul- 



232 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

phur, these waters are applicable to the same 
diseases, and require the same precautions 
for their use as the former. 

Temperature variable from 46° to 56°. 
Analysis by Dr. Eoger's : Solid matter pro- 
cured by evaporation from 100 cubic inches, 
weighed, after being at 212°, 44.62 grains. 

Quantity of each solid ingredient in 100 
cubic inches estimated as perfectly free from 
water : — 

Grains. 

Sulphate of lime 20.152 

Sulphate of magnesia . . . . 2.760 

Sulphate of soda . . . . . .9.021 

Carbonate of lime 2.185 

Carbonate of magnesia ..... 0.481 

Chloride of magnesium .... 0.407 

Chloride of sodium 1.868 

Chloride of calcium 005 

Peroxide of iron derived from proto-sulphate 0.015 
An azotized organic matter blended with sul- 
phur, about 3.000 

Earthy phosphates a trace. 

Volume of each of the gases in a free state 
contained in 100 cubic inches: — 

Cubic Inches. 

Sulphuretted hydrogen . . . 0.45 to 0.60 

Nitrogen ...... 3.25 

Oxygen 0.50 

Carbonic acid ..... 2.75 



SWEET SPRINGS. 233 

The stimulant operation attributed to the 
water of the Blue Sulphur, is denied by Dr. 
Hunter, the experienced resident physician; 
but his experiments on different individuals, 
as reported by him, leave the question unset- 
tled. We may, however, very well demur 
to the practice of giving it in inflammatory 
fevers, as impliedly recommended by Dr. 
Hunter. Putting aside speculative considera- 
tions, we can place more confidence in this 
gentleman's conclusions, the result of experi- 
ence, respecting the remedial value of the Blue 
Sulphur water. He enumerates the diseases 
to which its use is applicable, viz: Nervous 
disorders, including hypochondriasis, hyste- 
ria, catalepsy, chorea, chronic hepatitis, ame- 
norrhcea, irregular menstruation, and dys- 
menorrhoea, chronic diseases of the urinary 
organs, chronic diseases of the skin, particu- 
larly the class of scaly diseases. 

A well conducted Bathing establishment 
under the direction of Dr. Martin, gives ad- 
ditional attractions to the Blue Sulphur 
Springs. 

The Sweet Springs, among the first of the 
mineral springs of this region which were 
20* 



234 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

visited by invalids, still retain their early 
attractions. They are situated on the eastern 
border of Monroe County, seventeen miles 
from the "White Sulphur and twenty-two 
from the Salt Sulphur, in a beautiful valley, 
bounded on the north by the Alleghany, and 
on the south by the Sweet Springs Mountain. 
It is the spot where the last rally of visitors 
is made for the season, before separating for 
their several homes. 

The temperature of the water, 74° F., places 
it in the thermal class. Being in taste sub- 
acid and slightly alkaline, and evolving free- 
ly carbonic acid, it belongs to the class of 
acidulous waters, and may be used with the 
same benefit as these are. It is applicable, 
therefore, to irritable dyspepsia, with gastral- 
gia, renal and hepatic colic, and to bilious 
diarrhoea. In renal affections, and especially 
in those of the lithic and phosphatic diathesis, 
and in irritable bladder, it is calculated to do 
much good, when continued for an adequate 
period. The same remark applies to chronic 
gout, of which these disorders are often 
varieties. 

The full therapuetical value of the water 



RED SWEET SPRINGS. 235 

of the Sweet Springs is far from being 
properly appreciated ; and if a careful clinical 
record of each disease, regularly subjected 
to its use, were to be kept for a few seasons 
by a resident physician, it would show that 
these springs might be compared advantage- 
ously with some of the most noted of the 
class on the continent of Europe. Their 
tendency, after a time, to produce constipa- 
tion, and their immediate effects, evinced in 
fulness of the head and often drowsiness, 
point to their cautious use, if not their being 
withheld, for a while, at least, in general and 
also in local plethora. 

The copious and continued supply of the 
water, which is received in a large reservoir 
for bathing, and its temperature, are such as to 
attract many to the spot on this account alone, 
who could not take a cold bath, but who find 
in this temperate one a means of refreshment 
and invigoration, some would say rejuvena- 
tion, in which old Jason himself might have 
rejoiced, notwithstanding the marked prefer- 
ence of his daughter and doctress Medea for 
the hot bath. 

Red Sweet Springs, — These are only a 



236 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

mile distant from the Sweet Springs, which 
they closely resemble in all essential particu- 
lars; with the exception of their being more 
evidently impregnated with iron than the 
latter. The two prominent gases are nitro- 
gen and carbonic acid, in the proportion, re- 
spectively, of 62.5 and 37.5 cubic inches per 
cent.' of the entire volume. Of the three 
springs, the upper has a temperature of 77° 
F., the middle 80°, and the lower 79°, the 
waters of which, blended into one stream, give 
a temperature of about 78° F., or 4° higher 
than the Sweet Spring. The bathing house 
is a large building, suitably divided for the 
two sexes. 

DibrelVs Spring, on the road from the Natu- 
ral Bridge to the White Sulphur Springs, 
belongs to the sulphureous class. 

Healing Springs. — These springs, of recent 
discovery, are situated south of the Hot 
Springs, at the short distance of three and a 
half miles. " They are placed," as we learn 
from Dr. Burke, "in the gorge of the moun- 
tains near the road to the celebrated Falling 
Spring, one of the curiosities of this region." 
In their composition, they are represented by 



rawley's spring. 237 

the same writer to be "apparently very like 
the Sweet Springs, or, perhaps, more so to the 
Bed Sweet, since the chalybeate flavor is more 
distinct than that of the former. Like the 
springs mentioned, they bubble up from the 
ground." 

They are said to perform wonders in rheu- 
matisms, sprains, herpetic eruptions, and cuta- 
neous diseases generally, and in scrofulous 
ulcers. Effects hardly short of the miracu- 
lous have been attributed to the waters of 
the Healing Spring. 

The temperature, 84° F., two degrees above 
that of the famed Buxton, in England, makes 
a bath of its water adapted to a large circle 
of diseases in which there is still remaining 
excitement, a frequent pulse, dry skin and 
thirst, and in which its moderately contra- 
stimulant operation is better borne, and 
more useful than if baths of a lower tempe- 
rature were resorted to. As a means of 
healthful enjoyment, it must rank highly, es- 
pecially for children, delicate females and 
the dyspeptic student. 

Hawley's Spring, a strong and simple 
chalybeate, is in Eockingham Co., twelve 



23S MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

miles from Harrisonburg, and one hundred 
and twenty northeast from the White Sul- 
phur. 

The Holstein Springs are in Scott Co., in 
the southwestern angle of the State, near the 
Tennessee line, forty miles from Abingdon, 
and sixty from the Warm Springs of Bun- 
comb Co., N. C. One of them comes within 
the thermal limits, being 68°.5 F., or fifteen 
or sixteen degrees higher than the common 
springs of the country around. Of the saline 
constituents of the water, the chief ones are 
sulphates of magnesia and of lime ; the saline 
contents altogether being 41.14 grains in the 
gallon. It is represented by Dr. Gaines, to 
whom I am indebted for all the information 
I have on the subject, to be actively diuretic, 
and with suitable appliances diaphoretic. Its 
action on the bowels is induced, by restoring 
to the digestive canal its lost tone and 
healthy secretions. With proper caution, 
the bath will be found serviceable in certain 
cases. 

In Eastern Virginia, I have to speak of 
two springs which merit attention. 

Church Hill Ahem Spring. — This is a recent 



HUGUENOT SPRINGS. 239 

addition to the mineral springs of Virginia, 
having been discovered or rather opened 
only a few years ago, in the process of level- 
ling a street, which bordered on the garden 
of a lady in the city of Eichmond. The 
supply of water is abundant, and its mineral 
constituents place it at the head of this 
class of springs. An analysis by Professor 
Booth shows it to contain 184.5 grains of 
alkaline salts, 159.5 of salts of iron, and 
7.3 of persulphate of alumina in a gallon. 
Of the alkaline salts nearly one-half is Epsom 
salts. On this account it is generally aperi- 
ent, while, at the same time, owing to its 
large aluminous and chalybeate impregna- 
tion, it manifests actively tonic and astring- 
ent properties. This alum water is of great 
value in a number of diseases, such as passive 
hemorrhage, the profluvia, nervous diseases, 
and cutaneous and ulcerative affections. It 
is used to a considerable extent in Philadel- 
phia. I have prescribed it in several cases 
with decided benefit. 

Huguenot (formerly Howard's) Springs. — 
These are two in number, a Sulphureous and 
a Chalybeate, situated near James River, in 



240 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

Powhattan Co., 17 miles above Kichmond, on 
the main river road, between that city and 
Lynchburg. The Sulphur Spring resembles 
the White Sulphur; but its water is not so 
strong as that of the latter. The chalybeate 
has the virtues of its class. Dr. Eoyster, 
to whom I am indebted for a notice of these 
springs, writes favorably of their utility in 
different diseases. Suitable arrangements 
have been made for the reception and accom- 
modation of visitors. 



KENTUCKY SPRINGS. 241 



CHAPTER XIII. 

KENTUCKY SPRINGS. 

Kentucky Springs — Harrodsburg— Rochester — Olympian 
— Blue Lick — Lower Blue Lick — Ohio Springs — 
Yellow Spring — Westport — Illinois Springs — Tennes- 
see Springs — White Creek — Robertson's — Lee's — 
Nashville — Winchester — Montevale. 

For a knowledge of the chief mineral 
springs of Kentucky, I must gratefully ac- 
knowledge my obligation to Dr. Drake." 

Harrodsburg Springs. — "These springs be- 
long to the basinf now under examination, 
being situated near the sources of Salt Eiver. 
Unlike most of the mineral springs of Ken- 
tucky, which are found in deep valleys, these 

* Principal Diseases of the Interior Valley of North 
America, Vol. I. 

f [Basin of Salt River. Up this stream the defeated 
party, after a political contest in our country, is invited 
to take refuge. I have myself received, before now, a 
printed card, in the form of a free ticket, for this destina- 
tion.— J. B.] 

21 



242 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

burst out near the summit-level of the 
country, at an altitude of near a thousand 
feet above the Gulf of Mexico. From near 
the springs, small tributaries of the Kentucky 
Eiver and of Dick's Eiver, flow off to the 
east and north, and those of Salt Eiver to 
the south and west, a sufficient evidence of 
the relative elevation of the spot where they 
are found. In every direction, for several 
miles round, the country is as free from 
drowned lands, marshes, swales, and ponds, 
as any other equal area in the Ohio Basin. 
In fact, there does not seem to be a single 
source of malaria in their neighborhood, and 
my colleague, Professor Miller, who practised 
medicine nine years in this locality, has as- 
sured me that intermittent and remittent 
fevers are far less prevalent here than in the 
Barrens. 

" The town of Harrodsburg, in the suburbs 
of which we find the springs, was the first- 
settled spot in the state of Kentucky, and, 
consequently, the soil has been under cultiva- 
tion since the month of June, 1774; that is, 
nearly seventy-five years, a period quite 
sufficient to diminish those elements on 



HAERODSBUEG SPRINGS. 243 

which autumnal fever remotely depends. I 
am the more careful to set forth these facts, 
because most of the watering places in the 
west, from being in valleys, are scourged in 
August and September with bilious fevers, 
and because the invalids of the southwest, 
especially those who have been made such 
by its fevers, cannot have their constitutions 
repaired by sojourning at springs which are 
situated in malarious localities. 

" Harrodsburg Springs are not only in the 
oldest-settled spot in the valley of the Ohio, 
after Pittsburg, but they issue from strata 
which, I am informed by Professor Yandell, 
rest upon the very oldest formations known 
in the Ohio Basin. Considered in reference 
to chemical character, they are magnesian 
limestone. 

" Desirous of publishing an accurate account 
of the composition of these waters, I desired 
Dr. C. H. Eaymond, of Cincinnati, to visit 
and analyze them, which he did in the month 
of October, 1848, selecting the two fountains 
from which invalids are chiefly supplied. 
The following are the results with which he 
has furnished me : — 



2-i-i MINERAL AXD THERMAL SPRINGS. 

The Greenville Spring. 

Ingredients in a pint of the water, stated in grains and 
hundredths, Troy. 

Bicarbonate of magnesia . . . 2.87 

Bicarbonate of lime . . . . 0.86 

Sulphate of magnesia (crystallized) . . 16.16 

Sulphate of lime (crystallized) . . 11.06 

Chloride of sodium trace. 



30.95 



The Saloon, or Chalybeate Spring. 
Quantity of water the same. 



Bicarbonate of magnesia 


0.43 


Bicarbonate of lime 


4.31 


Bicarbonate of iron 


0.50 


Sulphate of magnesia (crystallized) . 


27.92 


Sulphate of lime (crystallized) 


10.24 


Chloride of sodium .... 


1.24 



44.60 

" The bicarbonate of iron in this spring is 
sufficient to impart to its salts a light fawn 
color. The water of both springs is limpid. 
Dr. Kaymond could not detect either free 
carbonic acid or sulphuretted hydrogen gas. 

"It will be seen by these analyses, that 
every tumbler of the water of the Greenville 
Spring contains within a fraction of sixteen 
grains of saline matter, more than half of 



COMPARATIVE EFFECTS. . 245 

which consists of magnesian salts ; that every 
tumbler of the water of the Saloon Spring 
contains twenty-two grains of saline matter, 
two-thirds of which are sulphate, with a 
small quantity of bicarbonate, of magnesia ; 
and that in the same quantity of the water 
there is a quarter of a grain of iron. The 
patient who, in one morning, drinks four 
tumblers of the water of the Saloon Spring, 
takes nearly a drachm of sulphate of mag- 
nesia, with other saline ingredients, and a 
grain of bicarbonate of iron. 

" I shall follow these estimates no further, 
but proceed to say, that the water of the 
Greenville Spring is the better antacid — that 
of Saloon, the better tonic. Indeed, small as 
the quantity of iron is, it sometimes produces 
an uncomfortable feeling in the head, which 
is relieved by drinking at the other fountain. 
In reference to the excretions, the water from 
both acts upon the bowels, kidneys, and 
under proper regulations at night, upon the 
skin. Beyond these sensible effects, it per- 
vades the whole constitution, and many 
classes of invalids very soon feel a renova- 
tion of appetite, strength, and cheerfulness, 
21* 



246 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

although its primary effects seem to be sed- 
ative, not stimulant. I transcribe from the 
article in the journal already quoted ( Western 
Journ., 1828), the following remarks on the 
curative effects of these waters. 

" "The cases to which they are, in a pecu- 
liar manner adapted, are chronic inflamma- 
tions and obstructions of the abdominal vis- 
cera. Thus, they are eminently serviceable 
in such cases of dyspepsia as are attend- 
ed with subacute gastritis, in almost every 
kind of hepatic disorder, except when the 
liver is indurated, and, consequently, incura- 
ble ; and in constipation, so constant an at- 
tendant on diseases of the stomach and liver. 
They are almost equally beneficial in chronic 
inflammations of many other parts of the 
system — especially of the serous and fibrous 
membranes. In tonic dropsies, in rheuma- 
tism, and in various affections of the perios- 
teum from febrile metastases, from syphilis, 
and from mercury, they have often effected a 
cure, when other means had failed. , In 
several urinary disorders they have done 
equal good. In chronic diseases of the skin 
they have also been found useful, when the 



HARRODSBURG SPRINGS. 247 

patient has been subjected to a regimen that 
has determined them to the surface. In pul- 
monary complaints they have been found 
serviceable, but not in the same degree as in 
disorders of the abdominal organs, and their 
"use in those maladies requires discrimination. 
In chronic pleurisy, and the early stages of 
subacute bronchitis, they have performed 
cures; but in vomica, tubercular suppura- 
tions, and hepatization of the pulmonary 
tissue, they are injurious, and, if persevered 
in, may even prove fatal. When they have 
rendered occasional assistance in these affec- 
tions, it was chiefly by correcting a morbid 
condition of the digestive functions, so often 
associated with them. In sick headache they 
occasionally do good, but many cases of that 
obstinate malady are attended with such an 
enervated condition of the nervous system, 
that their sedative operation becomes pre- 
judicial.' 

"The experience of multitudes, since these 
remarks were published, twenty years ago, 
has, in the main, confirmed their accuracy, 
and even added to the catalogue of maladies 
which have been palliated or removed. 



248 MIXERAL AXD THERMAL SPRINGS. 

■•The Harrodsburg waters hav 

ation, been extensively distributed over the 
southwest, and even found their way in:: 
in several of our garrisons. The salts ob- 
tained by their evaporation have long been 
employed by the people, and also by many 
physicians, who have found them more effi- 
cacious than the officinal sulphate of mag- 
nesia. 

"It is proper to say something of what art 
has done to make this an acceptable resi- 
dence to the infirm, and to the friends who 
may desire to accompany them. To this 
end the enterprising and courteous proprietor, 
Dr. Christopher Graham, through a period of 
twenty-five years, has devoted himself, with a 
liberality only equalled by his taste and dili- 
gence. TVithin that period, his permanent ex- 
j en iitures have exceeded two hundred thous- 
an :1 lollars, and he is still inventing newmeans 
for comfort, amusement, and the beneficial 
use of the water : among which are baths, 
both ooM and warm, the latter of which, 
from the high degree of saline impregnation, 
cannot but prove valuable in a great variety 
of cases. 



ATTRACTIVE SPOT. 249 

"A topographical map of the grounds 
around the principal spring, including the 
various improvements, has been made at my 
request, by Captain Fuller, topographical 
engineer, the inspection of which will render 
a description of them unnecessary;* and I 
need only say, that while the waters are per- 
haps adapted to as great a variety of infirm- 
ities as any now in use in any country, the 
accommodations which have been created 
will, from the reports of travellers, bear an 
advantageous comparison with any to be 
found either in America or Europe. Such 
is the spot which, in the midst of a highly 
cultivated society, may be added to the wild 
scenes on the Tennessee Eiver, the Mammoth 
Cave, the Upper Mississippi, and the Great 
Prairies, already recommended as places of 
beneficial resort for various classes of in- 
valids. 

"But the attractions of the Harrodsburg 
locality are not confined to its medicinal 
waters and its munificent accommodations; 

* The map is given in the volume from which the pre- 
sent account of the springs is taken. 



250 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

for, although it lies in a region of fertile and 
gently-rolling country, which would seem to 
promise nothing rare or romantic in nature, 
it is by no means destitute of objects and 
scenery which the eye of taste must regard 
with the deepest interest. About fifteen 
miles to the southeast are the "Knobs," 
where, on a plain, the basis of which is the 
black or Devonian slate, may be seen a 
scattered and picturesque group of slate-clay 
pyramids, or rude, truncated cones, rising 
from one to two hundred feet in height. At 
a less distance to the east, is the gorge 
through which Dick's River precipitates 
itself into the Kentucky. Lastly, at the 
distance of eight or ten miles to the north, 
the beholder finds himself on the verge of a 
chasm, as deep, and dark, and wild, as that 
of Niagara below the Falls. In this profound 
ravine, w T ith walls of the oldest transition 
marble, and a garniture of mingled ever- 
green and deciduous forest trees, the Ken- 
tucky Eiver quietly winds its way, and, by 
its very repose, seems to say that its w r ork of 
excavation is finished." 

There are, w r rites Dr. Drake, in the 



OLYMPIAN SPRINGS. 251 

Western Journal, for 1828, other Epsom 
springs in Kentucky, besides those of Har- 
rodsburg; of which the only one that has 
acquired notoriety, is situated ten or twelve 
miles from that town, and one from Perry - 
ville. It is named the 

" Rochester Spring. — It is a feeble but con- 
stant stream, that bursts out about sixty feet 
below the summit of a ridge of coarse 
grained, shell limestone. From the experi- 
ments and observations which I have made 
upon this water, its sensible qualities, com- 
position and effects are so nearly the same 
with those of the waters just described, that 
a detailed account of them would be super- 
fluous." 

The Olympian Springs [or Mud Lick], con- 
tinues this writer, in the same journal as above, 
constitute one of the oldest and most noted 
watering places of Kentucky. They are 
situated in Bath County, about fifty miles 
east of Lexington, on the waters of Licking 
Eiver, which unites with the Ohio, opposite 
Cincinnati. 

On approaching them from the west, the 
country undergoes a change in its topogra- 
phy, geology, and botany. The gentle slopes 



252 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

that give such beauty to the basin of Elk- 
horn, and the "country round about, 7 ' of 
which Lexington is the metropolis, are suc- 
ceeded by high and steep hills, the summits 
of which are narrow and serpentine. This 
is the commencement of the broken country, 
which, becoming more and more Alpine as 
we advance to the east, at last terminates in 
the Alleghany Mountains. With this change 
of aspect, there is a corresponding change of 
structure. The first shows itself, on ap- 
proaching Slate Creek, between Mountster- 
ling and the springs, where we observe strata 
and beds of arenaceous limestone, alternating 
with the blue, shell limestone just passed 
over, and presenting organic remains of a 
different kind. 

Two miles from the springs is a detached 
and somewhat conical summit, that has re- 
ceived the name of Olympus. It may be re- 
garded as a specimen of the region adjoining, 
and still further east. The road to Beaver 
Creek Iron Works passes near the base of 
Olympus, and at length the observer, ascend- 
ing from the valley, finds himself at an ele- 
vation of six or eight hundred feet, and sees 



OLYMPIAN SPRINGS. 253 

around him nothing but deep and angular 
valleys, mural precipices, and rocky summits, 
which resemble ruined fortresses and towers. 

There are several springs and wells, which 
present such differences in their composition, 
that of all the watering places of the west, 
this is supposed to afford the greatest va- 
riety. Dr. Drake says, further : — 

" I could not myself detect more than three 
kinds — a salt and sulphur, a white sulphur, 
and a chalybeate. 

" 1. The Salt and Sulphur w r ater is pumped 
up from a shallow well, near the margin of 
the brook. The temperature of the water as 
its issues from the pump is 58° of F. Its 
taste is that of a weak brine, moderately 
charged with sulphuretted hydrogen. Com- 
pared with the greater number of salines in 
the western country, the quantity of com- 
mon salt which it contains is small, and the 
sulphuretted hydrogen is too little to escape 
from the surface in bubbles. When the 
neighboring stream is swollen, its waters find 
their way into the well, which then affords a 
more dilute solution. It was in this state 
when my observations were made. 
22 



254: MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

" Subjected to the action of a variety of re- 
agents, it afforded the following results ; 
which, however, I do not state with confi- 
dence in .their accuracy. 

"1. Sulphuretted hydrogen. 

" 2. Muriate of soda, or common salt, and 
perhaps a little muriate of lime. 

"3. Carbonate of soda. 

" I could detect no sulphuric acid, and, con- 
sequently, it contains no Epsom salts; and if 
either lime or magnesia be present, the quan- 
tity is exceedingly small. 

"2. The White Sulphur Spring is situated 
half a mile from the well. It bursts out 
from a bank of shale, a short way up 
the side of a hill. Mr. Bankes, of Mount- 
sterling, assured me that this spring made 
its first appearance during the earthquakes 
of 1811. Its temperature is 59°. Its com- 
position is substantially the same with that 
of the well just described, but the ingre- 
dients of the two springs vary in their pro- 
portions. In the Sulphur Spring, the quantity 
of that substance is so great as to be depo- 
sited in the form of a whitish sediment, upon 
the leaves and twigs which the water flows 



OLYMPIAN SPRINGS. 255 

over. Silver is more speedily tarnished than 
in the well, and the proportion of sulphuret- 
ted hydrogen is sufficient to rise in bubbles to 
the surface, but still is much less than in 
many other springs in Kentucky. On the 
other hand, the spring has but a weak im- 
pregnation of muriate of soda, compared 
with the well. The proportion of carbonate 
of soda seemed to be nearly the same in both. 
I could not detect in it either sulphuric acid 
or magnesia. The existence of iodine in 
sulphuretted waters, not having at the time 
of my visit been made known, I did not, of 
course, examine for them. 

"3. The Chalybeate Springs. These are 
two in number, and are situated about forty 
yards apart, and half a mile from the salt and 
sulphur well. They burst out from between 
strata of arenaceous limestone, near the bank 
of a stream, which a mile below mingles its 
waters with those of the brook already de- 
scribed. Their temperature, as the water 
issues from the rock in lively currents, is 
52° F. They deposit a reddish sediment. 
From a variety of experiments on the water 
of the lower of these springs, I was satisfied 



\lZ 3 :::::i?.al xsz ihieval s; 

that it contains nothing but the carbonate of 
iron, with the proportion of muriates and 
carbonates, which our common springs afford. 
I observed the bottles in which it wa- 
ned to the lodges of invalids, to be inerust- 
ed with the red oxide of iron, from the 
decomposition of the carbonate of that metal, 
and the escape of the carbonic acid, by the 
agi:n:i:n. Tins ^aiv vrnD fnongh: rliem- 
selves in :ie use :: :-.n rz::::: :h 
were drinking a water which contained little 
else :nnn "ii:^: exists in or din:;" sr rings 

••Besides :"ne fennnvins. v/hion I n::.ve :Ie- 
serieei rnere is anitner— :-. feeble tt::-::;: 
:he rriz :::::*! "ell. 3.n:l e:.llei :ne "T;';-;';l 
Sprmg. I: seemed to contain muriates and 
j^r:: nates cnlj. an:l tese in suei: ntoierate 
raantities. tnat i: is t;se;I ::: :nlin: : ~ ;.".:• 
•;:ses. ul:i_ tnnn s:::l:en c: a,s nieiicinal. I 
jcuII net :lis::ver in it eitiier snlnnnr. mag- 
nesia, or snl^iinric ai-ii. 

"Tiie itlletving are tiie " : :n : i : ' i ::serva- 
rions Tr"„i:ii I ntaiie •:: t*_e sr ::. 

•■Tiie salt ana s:i:;i:nr crater ~a= ciiienj 
irank, Frem :ne :: e igltt ramblerf-als ~ere 
talien in tie naming. It lav lignt en tiie 



OLYMPIAN SPRINGS. 257 

stomach. Its diuretic effect was prompt and 
certain. Its action on the bowels was, in 
most cases, so inconsiderable, that common 
salt was added to increase its aperient quali- 
ties ; and many persons found it necessary, 
besides, to dissolve in it a portion of Epsom 
salt. To some dyspeptic stomachs it was op- 
pressive, even in small quantities, and in one 
delicate female I saw it produce a tendency 
to syncope. In many persons it produced 
abdominal distension, and a few thought it 
the cause of more obstinate constipation, 
which arose, perhaps, from its great determi- 
nation to the kidneys. 

11 During my week's residence at the springs, 
I saw no invalids in a rapid state of recovery, 
nor heard any speak with applause of the 
beneficial effects of the water upon them. It 
is certain, however, that many interesting 
cures have been effected by it, although it is 
less powerful than some other springs of the 
same kind."' 

Dr. Peter enumerates six different springs 
of the Olympian group, of which three con- 
tain sulphuretted hydrogen, two are saline 
22* 



258 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

chalybeates, and one is acidulous. If we 
except one of the second class, called the 
Epsom Spring, their saline constituents, al- 
though diversified in number, are, in amount, 
inconsiderable. Of the other five, the White 
Sulphur or Tea Spring water has the weak- 
est, and the Black Sulphur the strongest, sa- 
line impregnation. 

The completion of the railroad from Lex- 
ington to Big Sandy Eiver will contribute 
to make these springs, once more, a place of 
general and fashionable resort; additionally 
attractive as it is, by " the novel objects and 
romantic scenery which it presents." 

Blue Licks. — At this watering place, Dr. 
Drake tells us, there are several fountains, all, 
however, of one kind, the sulphureous saline. 
They are found on either bank of Licking 
Eiver, twenty-four miles from the Ohio, and 
at the intersection of the former by the high 
road that leads from Maysville to Lexington. 
From the first settlement of the State, till 
within the last fifteen years, salt was manu- 
factured at this place. The manufacture was 
rendered unprofitable by the increasing 
scarcity of fuel, and by the discovery of 



BLUE LICK SPRINGS. 259 

stronger water in "Western Yirginia and 
Pennsylvania. 

Lower Blue Lick Spring, — In all that re- 
lates to the geology of the region in which 
this spring is found, and to the analysis of 
its water, I avail myself of the information 
kindly furnished by Professor Peter of the 
Kentucky School of Medicine. 

The geological formation in which the 
Blue Lick Springs are located, is the same 
as that which underlies Cincinnati and the 
central fertile region of Kentucky, called 
by the western geologists the great Blue 
Limestone formation. It is a lower member 
of the so-called Silurian System of Murchi- 
son. It is a formation of great thickness in 
the west, composed of limestone layers of 
greater or less thickness, hardness and purity, 
with beds of bluish marly clay presenting 
sometimes a shaly structure; all rich in 
the fossilized remains of inhabitants of the 
deep primeval ocean under which they were 
evidently deposited. 

"The well known Big Bone Lick of Ken- 
tucky is seated on this same rock formation, 
and the composition of the water of the 



260 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

spring in that locality appears, by all ac- 
counts, to be nearly analogous to that of the 
Blue Licks ; it being a saline sulphur spring 
like the latter. Indeed, the Blue Limestone 
is very generally known as a saliferous for- 
mation ; which is doubtless to be referred to 
its submarine origin. Numerous springs of 
salt water have been found on it, and many 
salt wells, some containing sulphuretted hy- 
drogen, have been obtained in it by boring. 

"At the Blue Licks, beside the main spring, 
there are a number of minor ones, on the 
two sides of the Licking Eiver and in its bed, 
the water of some of which has been exa- 
mined by the author, and found to be very 
much like that of the principal spring in com- 
position. Johnson's Well, in Scott County, 
Ky., also presents a composition somewhat 
analogous to that of the Blue Lick water, 
but it is much weaker, and it contains more 
magnesian salts. 

"While the water of the superficial wells 
and springs, on this formation, are generally 
what is denominated hard or limestone water ^ 
containing bicarbonates of lime and mag- 
nesia, with a little iron, and some phosphate 



ARTESIAN SULPHUR WELLS. 261 

of lime, held in solution by carbonic acid ; 
these salt wells, or " licks," so called, contain 
chlorides of sodium and potassium, chlorides 
of calcium and magnesium, sulphate and 
carbonate of lime, &c, and are frequently 
impregnated, to a greater or less degree, with 
sulphuretted hydrogen. Saline water of this 
character, as above intimated, has been fre- 
quently obtained in the Blue Limestone 
formation by boring. For example, in the 
little town of Keene, in Jessamine County, 
Ky., a water was obtained in this manner, 
in 1848, by Mr. Wm, E. Dean, which is a 
very good salt sulphur water, and has been 
considerably employed for its medicinal pro- 
perties. It contains sulphuretted hydrogen 
and carbonic acid gases; bicarbonates of 
lime and magnesia, with a trace of bicarbon- 
ate of soda ; chlorides of sodium, calcium, 
magnesium, and doubtless of potassium, with 
a trace of iron ; but this is much weaker 
than the Blue Lick water containing only 
16 grains of saline in the 1000 grains of 
the water; being only about one-sixth the 
strength of the former. In a later testing, 
in May, 1850, it was found to be yet weaker, 



262 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

probably because of the then extremely wet 
season. This water has not been fully ana- 
lyzed to detect the presence of iodine and 
bromine. 

"In Scott County, of this State, in a well 
bored to the depth of 176 feet in this lime- 
stone, Mr. W. Eoszell obtained a water which 
contains a notable proportion of chlorides 
of sodium, calcium and magnesium, &c. &c, 
and smells strongly of sulphuretted hydro- 
gen. The water of another bored well, 105 
feet deep, obtained in 1848 by Major B. Rob- 
erts, in Harrison County, also on the Blue 
Limestone formation, has a very slight bitu- 
minous or sulphureous odor, but contains 
as much as sixteen parts in the thousand 
of saline matters, principally chloride of 
sodium, with chlorides of potassium, calcium 
and magnesium; sulphate of lime; bicar- 
bonates of lime, magnesia and iron, and a 
trace of iodine. This is rather stronger in 
salts than the Blue Lick water, and differs 
from it also in its deficiency of sulphuretted 
hydrogen, but in other respects they resemble 
each other very much in composition. 

"Another well, 81 1-2 feet deep, was made 



ARTESIAN SULPHUR WELLS. 263 

by boring, in Scott County, near George- 
town, on the property of Mr. E. Ford, the 
water of which contains as much as 4 per 
cent, of saline matter, principally common 
salt, with sulphates of lime and potash, chlo- 
rides of calcium and magnesium, &c. &c. 
Some of the wells in Lexington yield a 
water smelling slightly of sulphuretted hy- 
drogen, and while penning these remarks, a 
bottle of water was brought to me from a 
boring in progress, forty-five feet deep, in 
this city, which is a weak sulphur water * 
"Saline and saline-sulphur waters, therefore, 

* Associated with the water thus obtained by boring, 
in our Blue Limestone, is sometimes found a large quan- 
tity of light carburetted hydrogen gas. One remarkable 
instance occurred in Franklin County, at the mills of the 
Messrs. Steadman, where, as I am informed, this gas, in 
large quantities is poured out from the boring, the stream 
lasting for some time, and perhaps existing at the present 
moment. The origin of this gas in the coal formations, 
where it is more abundant, is, doubtless, from the vegeta- 
ble matters which formed the coal, but in this formation 
it is a puzzle to geologists. [Quite an active saline cha- 
lybeate water, containing some bromide of magnesium, 
and evolving free carbonic acid, has been found, by bor- 
ing, in the cellar of Mr. John S. Wilson, druggist, Lex- 
ington.] 



261 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

are quite frequent, comparatively, in our 
Blue Limestone strata, but amongst all the 
springs of this nature, known at present on 
this formation, in Kentucky, none are as 
valuable, and as remarkable, in many re- 
spects, as those of the Lower Blue Licks. 

" The principal spring of this locality, from 
which the water submitted to analysis was 
taken, is situated near the banks of the Lick- 
ing Biver, flowing out about twenty feet 
above low water in that stream. It rises in 
a hexagonal basin of stone, which has been 
built for it, which is six feet two inches in 
diameter, from one side to the opposite paral- 
lel one, and about five or six feet in depth. 
The quantity of water which flows out 
varies in different seasons. When the water 
for the present examination was obtained, 
June 6, 1850, it was low in the spring, and 
not running. The water in this basin was 
lowered about one foot by pumping out 
seventy-six barrels'* in the course of three 
hours; and in the winter time the stream 

* These barrels will not contain [each] more than 
thirty gallons. 



BLUE LICK SPRING. 265 

which flows out from it would probably fill 
a pipe three inches in diameter." 

" In six observations, at different times, on 
June 4th and 5th, the external air varying 
from 60° to 76° F., the temperature of the 
water stood very constantly at 62°. This is 
about seven degrees above the mean tempe- 
rature of this region, which is about 55°; 
and it is probable that the temperature of 
the water in .the basin had been somewhat 
raised by the external heat of the atmosphere. 
When flowing rapidly, it may, perhaps, be 
found to approximate more nearly to the 
mean annual temperature. 

"The mass of water in the spring presents 
a light yellowish-green color, partly owing, 
perhaps, to the reflection from the yellowish- 
gray sediment, for when it is taken up in a 
clear vessel, it appears perfectly colorless, 
and beautifully transparent. On standing 
exposed to the air, however, it becomes of a 
yellowish-green color, very perceptible in a 
white pitcher, or even in a white glass bottle. 
This color deepens on boiling the water, but 
boiling does not cause it to appear in the re- 
cent water. This color, to which the spring 
23 



266 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

probably owes its name of Blue Licks, is 
due to the decomposition of some of the dis- 
solved ingredients. On exposure to the air ? 
the hydrogen of the sulphuretted hydrogen, 
becomes converted into water by com- 
bining with oxygen from the atmosphere, 
while the sulphur, with the trace of iron, &c, 
is deposited as a light yellowish green pre- 
cipitate, at the same time, in consequence of 
the escape of some of the free carbonic acid, 
carbonate of lime is thrown down, which 
mixes with the sulphur precipitate. The 
minute portion of iron which .exists in the 
recent water, probably as carbonate of the 
protoxide, losing its carbonic acid and oxy- 
gen, becomes a sulphuret, by taking some of 
the sulphur of the decomposed sulphuretted 
hydrogen, and gives the greenish tinge to 
the water and its sediment. 

"In the water which has been bottled, or 
brought in barrels from the spring, this 
change of color and consequent deposition 
occurs a few hours after it has been brought 
in contact with the air, by uncorking and 
withdrawing a portion out of the vessel. It 
changes, in a marked manner, in flavor, 



BLUE LICK SPRING. 267 

owing to the decomposition of tlie sulphu- 
retted hydrogen ; and after a few days 7 ex- 
posure, loses all smell and taste of this gas, 
as might be expected from its decomposible 
nature. To preserve its virtues in exporta- 
tion, therefore, it should be bottled like a 
sparkling wine, and used as soon, as it is 
opened. In this manner, if but little air be 
left in the neck of the bottle, and the cork is 
very tight and secured by sealing wax, it 
may be preserved, unchanged, for a consider- 
able time. In the spring and its channel 
this decomposition and escape of gas contin- 
ually take place, causing the formation of 
sediment. Less decomposition would prob- 
ably take place in the spring, were its basin 
smaller, so that the water would be more 
rapidly renewed, and it would expose less 
surface to the air. 

"Some of the sediment collected from the 
bottom of the spring, was found by analysis 
to contain the following ingredients, viz: — 

Sand, in considerable proportion. 

Carbonates of lime and magnesia. 

Sulphur. 

Oxide and sulphuret of iron. 



268 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

Alumina. 

A trace of oxide of manganese. 

Apocrenic acid. 

A trace of crenic acid. 

"All these ingredients, except the sand, 
which is probably brought out mechanically 
suspended, were, doubtless, dissolved in the 
recent water, and were deposited on its ex- 
posure to the air. 

"In addition to the gases, sulphuretted hy- 
drogen and carbonic acid, which are thus 
gradually decomposed in the water, or which 
escape insensibly from its surface, streams of 
bubbles of gas are continually rising through 
the spring, and breaking into the atmo- 
sphere. 

" Some of this gas ) carefully collected for 
me by Major Owen, in bottles prepared for 
the purpose, w r as submitted to analyses, and 
found to consist mainly of nitrogen, mixed 
with about 4.5 per cent, of carbonic acid gas, 
and only a trace of sulphuretted hydrogen." 

The composition of the Blue Lick water, 
according to this analysis, is as follows ; cal- 
culated both in 1000 grains of the water and 
in the wine pint of 7,680 grains, viz: — 



ANALYSIS OF BLUE LICK WATER. 269 



Gases in 1000 grains: — 

Specific gravity . . ■ . . 1.007. 

In the wine pint. 
Grains. Cubic In. Grains. Cubic In. 

Sulphuretted hyd. gas 0.0394 0.1086 0.3031 0.8340 
Free carb. acid gas 0.3547 .0776 2.7240 5.8368 
, The former is in the proportion of about 1.36th, the 
volume of the water, and the latter about 1.5th the vol- 
ume. 

Saline contents in 1000 grains : — 



Grains. 


In the wine pint. 
Grains. 


0.3850000 


2.9568000 


0.0022065 


.0169459 


0.0058330 


0.0447974 


8.3472930 


64.1072102 


0.0226690 


0.1740979 


0.5272000 


4.0488960 


0.0009394 


0.0302546 


0.0007340 


0.0056371 


0.5533300 


4.2495744 


0.1519190 


1.1166738 


0.0079400 


0.1377792 


0.2819861 


2.2158335 



Carbonate of lime 
Carbonate of magnesia 
Alumina, phosphate of 

lime, and ox. iron 
Chloride of sodium 
Chloride of potassium 
Chloride of magnesium 
Bromide of magnesium 
Iodide of magnesium 
Sulphate of lime 
Sulphate of potash 
Silicic acid 
Loss 



10.3000000 79.1040000 

The water also contains traces of oxide of 
manganese, and apocrenic and crenic acids. 
The solid contents of the Blue Lick water 
23* 



270 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

are to those of the "White Sulphur, as rather 
more than 9 to 2. In the former are 64 
grains of chloride of sodium or common salt 
to the pint ; in the latter but a small fraction. 
The first contains but 3 J grains of sulphate 
of lime, that inert salt, if not one of equivocal 
benefit; and the second about 10 grains ot 
the same. The White Sulphur holds in so- 
lution, however, sulphates of magnesia and 
soda, both of which are wanting in the Blue 
Lick; while in its turn the latter has chlo- 
ride of potassium and sulphate of potash and 
bromide of magnesium, which are not in the 
former. The quantity of sulphuretted hy- 
drogen in the Blue Lick is double that in the 
White Sulphur, even if we assume Dr. Ko- 
ger's more favorable analysis as the stand- 
ard. Iodide of magnesium is found in both. 
The medicinal virtues of the Blue Lick 
water are those of a saline sulphur, and ana- 
logous to, but more active than the Olym- 
pian Spring water. It acts freely as a diu- 
retic ; but only on occasions as a purgative. 
It may be used with advantage in nearly all 
the chronic diseases in which the sulphur 



ESTILL SPRINGS. 271 

waters already described have been pre- 
scribed, especially in chronic rheumatism and 
cutaneous diseases ; and in atonic dyspepsia 
and obstructed and painful menstruation. 
The use of the water as a bath is properly 
conjoined with its internal use. 

The Blue Lick water is brought on to 
Philadelphia, and used by many persons with 
decided benefit. 

One drawback to visiting the Blue Lick 
Springs is thus mentioned by Dr. Drake, in 
the first volume of his great work (p. 256). 
" In former times, when salt was manufac- 
tured here by furnace heat, autumnal fever 
seems to have prevailed but little. Latterly, 
however, the sluggish water which winds 
round the spring generates intermittents, 
which, nevertheless, do not become prevalent 
until the latter part of the summer, when 
watering-places are not much frequented." 

Estill Springs. — I am again indebted to the 
kindness of Dr. Peter for the following notice 
of these springs : — 

"Of the waters of the f Estill Spring' (Es- 
till Co., Ky .), I .have tested two varieties sent 
to me in bottles, viz : — 



272 MINEKAL AND THEEMAL SPRINGS. 

White Sulphur. 
Specific gravity, 1.001. (Sept. 1849.) 
Saline contents, 0.09 per cent. 
Contains — 

Carbonic acid and sulphuretted hydrogen gases. 

Carbonates of soda, lime, magnesia, and trace of 
carbonate of iron. 

Sulphates of lime, magnesia, and soda. 

Chloride of sodium in small amount. 

Hydrosulphate of soda? 

Red Sulphur. 
Specific gravity, 1.0002. 
Saline contents, 0.04 per cent. 
Contains — 

Carbonic acid and sulphuretted hydrogen gases. 

Carbonates of soda, lime, magnesia, and trace of 
carbonates of iron. 

Sulphates of soda, lime, and magnesia. 

Chlorides of sodium, calcium, and magnesium. 

Hydrosulphate of soda? 

"A similarity in composition appears in 
the qualitative testing, but the quantity and 
proportion of the ingredients differ consider- 
ably—a fact only to be fully demonstrated 
by a complete quantitative analysis. 

" There are other waters at the Estill 
Springs, and they are quite popular; but I 
have never examined any but those named 
above." 



YELLOW SPRING. 273 

In Ohio, Doctor Drake says the mineral 
springs are numerous, but lie adds the quali- 
fying remark, that they are not greatly di- 
versified in their properties, nor copious in 
the supplies which they afford. The most 
common mineral waters of the State are, he 
tells us, chalybeate. Of these he describes 
but one, " as the only watering place of no- 
toriety in Ohio." This is 

The Yellow Spring. — It is situated in 
Greene County, sixty-four miles north of 
Cincinnati, and two miles west of the Little 
Miami Eiver, on the Cincinnati and San- 
dusky Eailroad. " It is a copious and con- 
stant fountain, that issues between strata of 
arenaceous limestone, and thus has geological 
characters perfectly identical with the chaly- 
beate springs of the Olympian valley in 
Kentucky." The temperature of the water 
is 52° F., precisely that of the other springs 
in the neighborhood. The water is transpa- 
rent, emits no bubbles, and has a slight chaly- 
beate taste ; but this does not prevent its 
being used for a variety of domestic purposes. 
In composition it resembles all the other 



274 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

springs of a limestone country, with the ad- 
dition of carbonate of iron. 

The water acts as a diuretic, but whether 
more than common water in the same quan- 
tity is questionable. As a laxative its action 
is very small, if it can be considered as having 
this effect at all with any uniformity. Dr. 
Drake, from whom I take the preceding de- 
tails, says that its water is rather restorative 
than curative, and as such it is admirable for 
convalescents. It is, if not the most potent, 
at least the most pleasant of tonics, and hence 
it is adapted to exhausted states of the sys- 
tem, following prior diseases of violence, or 
associated with dyspepsia, and various nerv- 
ous disorders. 

To the above we may add, from the saline 
class, 

The Westport Spring. — It rises in the bed 
of Deer Creek, a tributary of the Scioto Eiver, 
from a vast bed of clay slate, which for many 
miles forms the bed of the creek, and a cliff 
along its banks twenty feet high. 

The water flows abundantly, so as to yield 
probably a barrel in two minutes, and when 
confined in a wooden tube it rises to the 



ILLINOIS SPKINGS. 2 i O 

height of eighteen feet, and then runs over 
at the top. It contains sulphate of magnesia, 
iron and carbonic acid, which last gives it a 
sparkling appearance as it rises from the 
earth. In its operation it is moderately 
cathartic, and as such would be adapted to a 
number of morbid states not yet specified in 
its records. 

In Illinois, some springs have been no- 
ticed by Professor C. IT. Shephard, under the 
title of the 

Upper Illinois Springs. — Two, which come 
to the surface near together and by the road- 
side, may be denominated saline. The tem- 
perature is apparently above that of the 
springs in the vicinity, and certainly supe- 
rior to the mean temperature of the climate. 
They contain carbonic acid and nitrogen 
gases, supercarbonate of lime, bicarbonate of 
soda, chlorides of sodium, calcium and mag- 
nesium, and sulphates of lime, magnesia and 
soda. 

Sulphureous Spring. — The spring which 
issues from the sandstone layers nearly in 
the bank of the Illinois, is a strong sulphu- 



276 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

reous water, and in addition to the above enu- 
merated ingredients,contains free sulphuretted 
hydrogen, and hydrosulphuret of sodium* 

Springs in the bed of the Vermilion River, 
at Vermilionville, are sulphureous in their 
character, and at the same time equally rich 
in saline matter with the Illinois Springs. 
It is difficult to obtain a supply of water 
from them, as their points of issue are com- 
pletely overflowed at high stages of the river. 

Of the Tennessee Springs I have not 
much to say, having been unsuccessful in 
some attempts to procure information respect- 
ing them. I will begin by repeating what is 
found in my first work on the subject, f 

* This is the first announcement, as far as I am aware, 
of the presence of this sulphuret in any of the sulphur 
springs of the United States. 

f On Baths and Mineral Waters. To save the trouble 
of inquiry for this book, I may as well say that it has 
been out of print for many years. Its place is intended 
to be supplied by the volume already published, "Baths 
and the Watery Begimen," and the present Manual, and, 
finally, by the larger work already referred to, but not yet 
finished, on Mineral and Thermal Springs in all parts of 
the world. 



white's creek speings. 277 

u Nature has been exceedingly bountiful to 
the western region in the abundance and ex- 
cellence of its sulphur springs ; especially of 
those in which sulphur and the muriates of 
soda and lime are held in solution. Through- 
out the longitudinal range of Tennessee, for 
example, from west to east, from Nashville 
to the Virginia line, the traveller must 
have been struck with the number of these 
springs which present themselves in regular 
succession on or near the high road. 

" White's Greek Spring, twelve miles from 
Nashville, is much resorted to. My stay at 
it was too short to enable me to glean much 
information respecting the virtues of its wa- 
ters from personal observation. I learned 
that it contained sulphate of magnesia, iron, 
and sulphur. The impregnation with this 
last was very strong, the taste even acrid. 
Experience has shown that this water, when 
drank, is best adapted to diseases of low ac- 
tion. In calculous affections and cutaneous 
disorders, it has the reputation of having 
wrought wonderful cures. 

" Robertson 1 s Springs are saline. They are 
twenty miles from Nashville. 
24 



278 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

"In East Tennessee especially , inducements, 
presented as well from this cause as from the 
purity of the air and agreeable variety of 
scenery, are held out to many families from 
Mississippi and that region of country, for 
change of climate and travel. Many avail 
themselves of the advantages thus offered, 
and realize more completely what they hoped 
for than if they had visited more celebrated 
watering places, and become the slaves to 
fashions and usages, often irksome by their 
strangeness, and injurious by their taxes on 
personal comfort and health. 

" Twenty miles east of Knoxville are Lees 
Springs ; two sulphur and a chalybeate : the 
last is very strong. At Butledge (Granger 
County), and at Beands Station, are strong- 
sulphur springs." 

Dr. Troost, in his Sixth Eeport of the 
Geological Survey of the State of Tennessee, 
enumerates several mineral springs, all of 
them sulphureous; viz: French Lick, Tyre's, 
Duds, White 1 s Creek, Sards Creek, in Davidson 
County ; Winchester and Brown 1 s, in Franklin 
County; Maysfield, in Williamson; Hager*s, 
in Sumner ; and Terries, in Eutherford 



WINCHESTER SPRINGS. 279 

County. All of them contain sulphuretted 
hydrogen and sulphate of lime, and most of 
them chloride of sodium. That of White's 
Creek has sulphates of soda and magnesia. 

The quantity of sulphuretted hydrogen is 
from 6 to 13 cubic inches in 20 ounces of 
water — proportions beyond those of the 
White Sulphur in Virginia, and the Blue 
Lick in Kentucky. 

Within a few minutes' walk of the city of 
Nashville — I speak of thirty four years ago — 
there is quite a strong sulphureous spring. 
Probably the same as that called the French 
Lick Spring. 

I have been favored with the following me- 
morandum from a young friend (Mr. Dashiell) 
from Tennessee, who is now attending a sum- 
mer course of medical lectures in this city. 

"Winchester Springs, four miles from the 
town of this name, are situated upon the 
Nashville and Chattanooga Eailroad, in 
Franklin County, Tennessee, some seventy 
miles from Nashville, and fifty from Chatta- 
nooga. They are of considerable celebrity, 
and from their variety and close proximity 
demand a passing notice. Within a stone's 



280 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

throw we have four different springs; red 
and white sulphur, chalybeate, and freestone. 
They are all very large, and flow in full 
stream. They are situated in a beautiful 
valley, surrounded by hills covered on all 
sides by plants and flowers most rare. To 
the traveller, weary of a railroad car and 
fond of botanizing, no more profitable and 
pleasant place can he find to wile away a few 
days. The springs have been analyzed by 
the state geologist and the best chemists in 
Nashville, and they have been proved to pos- 
sess the best qualities. The invalid in search 
of active medicinal waters and bracing air, 
should pay Winchester a visit. 

" Alliance Springs. — Near the above, some 
four miles distant, have been discovered 
springs of nearly equal value and variety. 
They are called c Alliance Springs/ and bid 
fair to become & fashionable resort. 

" Montvale Springs, situated near the city 
of Knoxville, East Tennessee, accessible at 
all times, I believe, by conveyances from the 
city, are rich in medicinal waters of different 
varieties, and are much resorted to by invalids 
and pleasure-seeking people from all parts of 



WARM SPRINGS. 281 

the South. The scenery around is grand; 
and this region has even been called the 
Switzerland of America." 

Warm Springs, of the temperature of 95° 
F., are on the French Broad Eiver, issuing 
from its banks. 



24* 



282 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Springs of North Carolina — The Warm and Hot Springs 
of Buncombe County — Springs of South Carolina — 
Glenn's, West's, Click's, Cowpen's — Springs of Geor- 
gia — The Indian — Warm, of Meriwether County — 
Madison— How reached — Rowland's, Gordon's. 

In North Carolina, the springs of which 
we have most heard, and those for which this 
State is most remarkable, are thermal. These 
are 

The Warm and Hot Springs of Buncombe 
County. — Buncombe is one of the northwest- 
ern counties of the State, lying between Ten- 
nessee on the north, and South Carolina on 
the south. The springs are situated on the 
western bank of the French Broad Eiver, 
and so near are they to it that in times of 
freshet they are overflowed by the water of 
this stream. The depth of the river varies 
at this spot; it being in some places ten 
to fifteen feet, in others quite shoaly. The 
last spring opened is twenty yards farther 



WARM AND HOT SPRINGS. 283 

from the river than the others. Its tempe- 
rature is not quite as great as theirs. The 
former is 104° F., and the latter 94° F. At 
the surface, the temperature of the basins 
supplied by the first two, is 100° F. 

This is a beautiful and romantic spot, rep- 
resenting an extensive meadow contiguous 
to the river, embosomed in lofty mountains, 
among which the river winds. The valley 
seems not to exceed a mile in width, and is 
much narrower than this both above and 
below.* 

The water is limpid and continually emits 
bubbles of nitrogen. An analysis of three 
quarts of the water, by Professor Smith, 
gave the following results : — 

Grains. 
Muriates of lime and magnesia . . .4 

Sulphate of magnesia 6 

Sulphate of lime . ..... 14.5 

Insoluble residue 2.5 

1 



Equal to but 4.66 grains in a pint . .28.0 



* Professor E. D. Smith, Silliman's Journal, Vol. III. 



284 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

Water of such purity may readily be 
taken to the extent of from three to four 
quarts daily, as we are told is done by visitors 
at the springs. After being thus freely 
drunk it is said, however, to exert a brisk 
purgative action. It then ceases to produce 
any sensible effect. 

The bath, but without precise specification 
of temperature, is, we are told, taken twice 
daily. The time of immersion from half an 
hour to an hour. On these important topics 
I have dwelt with some emphasis, when 
speaking of the Virginia warm and hot 
springs; and to the advice and cautions laid 
down on that occasion, I would refer the 
reader. The warm bath of 94° F., at the Bun- 
combe Springs, is pleasant, safe, and salutary 
to nearly all who may visit the spot. The hot 
bath, from 100° F. to 104° F., is, on the con- 
trary, not only of doubtful propriety for per- 
sons in common health, but positively inju- 
rious under a great variety of circumstances 
in disease. Its unquestionable utility, how- 
ever, in certain cases, may be inferred from 
what was said in a preceding chapter on the 
Virginia thermal waters. 



SOUTH CAROLINA SPRINGS. 285 

Many cases of chronic rheumatism, palsy, 
and other kinds of weakened and impeded 
motion are recorded, in which a cure or great 
relief was obtained by the use of this water 
internally and externally. 

Springs of South Carolina. 

The geological character of the State is 
unfavorable to the existence of springs of 
very prominent mineral properties. Never- 
theless there are some that have acquired 
considerable notoriety for medicinal virtues. 
Among these the most noted are Glenn's 
Springs, in Spartanburg District. The water 
of these springs is strongly charged with 
salts of lime * Their location is a pleasant 
and salubrious one, and the springs are much 
resorted to by visitors from the lower parts 
of the State. Not far from this there is a 

* Professor Shepard, of the Medical College of Charles- 
ton, says that the water of these springs "is strongly im- 
pregnated with sulphur. It contains, also, sulphate of 
lime (with traces of sulphate of magnesia), supercarbon- 
ate of lime and chloride of calcium." 

This was the result of an analysis by Professor Shep- 
ard, and would show that the state geologist is in error. 



286 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

chalybeate spring, known as West's Spring. 
Chick's Springs, a few miles above the village 
of Greenville, are pleasantly situated in sight 
of the mountains, and within a pleasant ride 
of the village. The water resembles that at 
Glenn's Springs, but is not so strongly im- 
pregnated. There are, in Abbeville District, 
in the Flatwoods, and near Parson's Moun- 
tains, saline and chalybeate springs, but they 
are not places of resort. There is another 
spring in the eastern side of the district at 
Pinson's Ford, near Dr. Jones's, which is also 
chalybeate and saline, and deserves a trial. 
In Laurens there are three or four highly 
chalybeate and sulphureous springs. They 
occur in the hornblende slates that extend 
from the Saluda to the Enoree, north of the 
village, and are worthy of notice. 

A few miles above the village of Spartan- 
burg, a spring occurs that has some reputa- 
tion, and is a place of some resort. 

Another spring of similar character is 
found at the foot of the Estatoe Mountains, 
in the upper part of Greenville, at Mr. 
Barton's. 

At and near the furnace (Cowpens) there 



SPRINGS OF GEORGIA. 287 

are many picturesque spots as well as a cha- 
lybeate spring. — From Report on the Geology 
of South Carolina, by Mr. Tuomey, State Geolo- 
gist. 

Dr. Gaillard informs me that Glenn's 
Springs "have a considerable reputation, 
being particularly esteemed by the people 
in dyspeptic affections; which may very 
well be relieved by the change of scene and 
air, and climate, by the exercise, &c, of those 
who resort to them. 

SPRINGS OF GEORGIA. 

The only information which I have been 
able to procure on the mineral and thermal 
springs of this state is contained in the fol- 
lowing notices, by my valued friend, Professor 
Eichard D. Arnold, of Savannah. In his 
letter on the occasion, he says: — 

"I find it difficult to gather any but popu- 
lar information concerning them. 

" First in medicinal importance stand the 
Indian Springs, in Butts County. They are 
sulphureous, and are much resorted to for 
rheumatic complaints, and for disorders de- 
pendent upon depraved digestion, whether of 



288 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

the liver or stomach. In both chronic hepa- 
titis and chronic gastritis, some of my pa- 
tients have been benefited most decidedly. I 
think very highly of their medicinal qualities. 

" The Warm Springs, in Meriwether County, 
have gained very great reputation for curing 
rheumatism and gout. They are naturally 
warm, about 90° F., and hold magnesia, &c, 
in solution. 

" From what I have learned, and from the 
great relief afforded to a gouty patient, whom 
I sent there, some six years since, I think 
they would prove very serviceable in poda- 
gra. Their very decided efficacy in curing 
rheumatism is beyond dispute. 

"The Madison Springs, in Madison County, 
are purely chalybeate. They are much re- 
sorted to in cases where tonics are indicated. 

" These three springs have been long esta- 
blished in public reputation, in this section 
of our Union. They are all situated on much 
higher elevations than the seaboard ; and as 
far as temperature is concerned, they may 
challenge a competition with any mineral 
springs in the Union. Their elevation also 
secures them from malarial influences. 



INDIAN AND WARM SPRINGS. 289 

" You have chalybeate springs in. abund- 
ance at the North, but I doubt very much if 
any two springs can any where be found 
combining such decided medicinal qualities 
as the Indian and the Meriwether "Warm 
Springs. They are, also, of very easy ac- 
cess from the North. One of our fine sea 
steamers would land a patient at our wharves 
in sixty hours from New York, and our 
railroad would convey him to within sixteen 
miles of the Indian Springs, and about fifty 
of the Warm Springs. The former could be 
reached within four and a half days of travel 
from New York, and the latter within five 
and a half days.* 

* [In farther illustration of what Dr. Arnold writes, 
respecting the ease and rapidity with which these springs 
may be reached from the North — from Philadelphia by 
her steam-packet line to Savannah, as well as from 
New York, I append the following details of the inland 
route, taken from a newspaper account of the "Indian 
Springs :" — 

From Charleston, there are several modes of access. 
The one generally used is by steamer to Savannah^ 110 
miles; thence to Macon by the Central Railroad, 191 
miles ; from thence to Forsyth, 25 miles, where you travel 
on the stage to the Springs, 16 miles — making the dis- 

25 



290 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

" Kowland's Springs, in Cass County, also 
a chalybeate, and Gordon's Springs, in Mur- 
ray County, have lately begun to attract the 
attention of travellers and invalids. In 
Murray County, I am informed that within a 
stone's throw of each other, there arise four 
springs, each mineral, and each differing from 
the other. Pure limestone springs abound 
in the upper part of our State. I am sorry 
that I cannot give you any authentic analy- 
sis of any of these springs. I am not dis- 
posed to rely much on those which have been 
made." 

tance 342 miles. By this route you can leave Charles- 
ton on one day and arrive at the Springs on the next. 
Another route is by railroad, via Augusta, to Covin g- 
ton, and thence by stage a distance of 81 miles. Or, if 
the traveller would wish to beguile the tedium of travel- 
ling, he can stop at Stone Mountain, by taking the train 
at Augusta to Atlanta. There are several fine hotels at 
the Springs.] 



SPRINGS OF ALABAMA. 291 



CHAPTEE XV. 

Springs of Alabama — Bladon — Bailey's — Mineral Arte- 
sian Wells — Springs of Mississippi — Cooper's (Arte- 
sian) Well — Ocean Springs — Their situation — Springs 
of Arkansas — Hot of Ouachita or Washitaw — Their 
situation — Between the Hot and Cold Mountains 
— Vapor bathing — Cold affusion — Warm bath — Com- 
position of the water — Its resemblance to chicken broth 
— Diseases cured by the water — Chalybeate and Acidu- 
lous Springs — Number of the Hot Springs — Their 
geological relations — Warm bath in the creek — Tem- 
perature of the Springs — Adaptation of the water to 
certain domestic purposes — These Hot Springs resem- 
ble those of Baden, Wisbaden, Teplitz, and Carlsbad — 
Applicableto the same diseases — Cause of the animal fla- 
vor — Vapor bathing — Its effects and utility — Springs of 
Florida — Numerous but not described — Subterranean 
rivers — Sulphur Spring near Tampa. 

SPRINGS OF ALABAMA. 

The tertiary formations of the United 
States are not remarkable for the mineral 
character of the water ; yet, in the Alabama 
tertiary formation, there are several springs 
of very marked properties. 



292 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

Besides numerous saline springs in a stra- 
tum associated with the burr-stone, there are 
others strongly impregnated with sulphu- 
retted hydrogen. One occurs at the lower 
Salts, which is quite strong; and another at 
the upper Salt-works. Both of these are 
places of occasional resort for invalids. 

Tallahatta Springs are well known, and 
much visited by citizens of that part of the 
State. Besides sulphur, the water contains 
salts of iron, lime, and magnesia. 

Of all the springs of this region, those of 
Bladon are deservedly the most noted. The 
water has been analyzed by Prof. Brumby, 
but, as the analysis was executed at a dis- 
tance from the spring, and no precautions 
were taken topreserve the gaseous ingredients 
when the water was transmitted to the pro- 
fessor, of course the sulphur does not appear 
in his analysis. One is, therefore, surprised 
after reading it to find the Bladon among the 
strongest sulphur waters in the State. The 
springs are pleasantly situated, and, at the 
proper season, very accessible from the Ala- 
bama Eiver. 

There is a strong chalybeate spring still in 



BLADON SPRINGS. 293 

the tertiary formation, west of Claiborne. It 
is situated in the superficial beds of red loam. 
— Tuomey 1 s First Biennial Report of the Geo- 
logy of Alabama. 

Bladon Springs. — "The Bladon Springs/' 
says Hon. S. S. Houston, a member of the 
House of Eepresentatives from Washington 
County, " are eighty-five miles from Mobile, 
seven from Coffee ville, in Clarke County, 
eight from Barryton, in Washington County, 
and three from Tombecbee Eiver, between 
which and the springs are pine lands, with 
no swamp intervening. The surrounding 
country is much broken and diversified. 
The growth is pine, with an admixture of 
oak, hickory, &c, and it is abundantly sup- 
plied with good water. The river up to this 
place is always navigable for steamboats of 
some class, and the run from Mobile can be 
made in from ten to eighteen hours. 

" The accommodations at the springs are 
now (December, 1845) sufficient for one hun- 
dred visitors, and the proprietors have erected 
a large hotel, which will be finished before 
the next season, and which will accommodate 
25* 



294 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

two hundred more. They are also making 
efforts to improve the roads leading to the 
springs from all points." 

Six or seven fountains, differing slightly 
in their deposit and other characteristics, it 
is said, gush from the earth in a small area, 
furnishing abundance of water, and present- 
ing a striking appearance. 

Analysis of a wine pint : — 

Cubic Inches. 
Sulphuretted hydrogen (quantity not ascertained). 
Carbonic acid gas . . . . . 4.075 

Chloride of sodium 0.9625 

Carbonate of soda 4.1112 

Carbonate of lime 0.3437 

Carbonate of magnesia .... 0.1706 

Oxide of iron . . . . . . 0.0300 

Sulphate of lime 0.0019 

Silica and alumina 0.2631 

Crenic acid ... . . . 0.0912 

Apocrenic acid 0.0750 

Loss % 0.0400 

6.0892 

The free carbonic acid and the relatively 
large proportion of carbonate of soda in this 
water place it among the acidulous ones. In 
certain forms of dyspepsia and bowel dis- 
eases, and renal affections, accompanied by 



bailey's spring. 295 

heat and irritation, the Bladon waters must 
be valuable.* 

Bailey's Spring is situated in Lauderdale 
County, Alabama, fourteen miles from Tus- 
cumbia, nine from Florence, and two and a 
half from the stage-road leading to Nash- 
ville. The water is cool, transparent, and 
almost tasteless. A qualitative analysis made 
by Dr. Currey, of Nashville, shows it to con- 
tain carbonic acid, sulphuretted hydrogen, 
carbonates of soda and magnesia, oxide of 
iron in union with carbonic acid, chloride of 
sodium, and carbonate of potash. Mr. Tuo- 
mey, in his analysis of this water, found car- 
bonates of iron and of soda, chloride of so- 
dium, and a trace of carbonate of potash, 
and sulphur — the last perhaps in combina- 
tion with soda as a sulphuret. 

The water of this spring is extolled in 
dyspepsia, scrofula, and dropsy; but we have 
no specification of the stages or particular 
features of these diseases in which it is appli- 
cable, nor the quantity of the water drank to 
produce the desired effect. 

* The analysis of Bladon Springs was made by Pro- 
fessor Brumby, of the University of Alabama. 



296 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

As an acidulo-sulphureous and chalybeate 
water, this would be adapted to a variety of 
functional disturbances of the digestive and 
renal organs, and to scrofula in its incipient, 
as well as in its more advanced and ulcerative 
stage. Nothing is said in the pamphlet be- 
fore me of its action on the bowels, and we 
are left to infer that it is a mild alterative 
hot wanting in therapeutic activity. 

Numerous mineral waters have been ob- 
tained of late years in Alabama, by boring, 
with a view of getting pure potable water. 

SPRINGS OF MISSISSIPPI. 

Cooper's Well is four miles from Eaymond, 
the county seat of Hinds, and twelve miles 
west of Jackson, the seat of government, 
Mississippi, on land belonging to the Eev. 
Preston Cooper. 

The water is derived from an Artesian well 
dug to the depth of 107 feet in a solid sand- 
stone rock; in some parts, a considerable 
conglomerate overlaying and mixed with the 
sandstone. At the surface, the rock is soft, 
but becomes quite hard at a depth beyond 
the reach of atmospheric action. After re- 



cooper's well. 297 

peated attempts and pauses of labor, the 
water first flowed into the well on Friday, 
Sept. 16, 1841. The country around is bro- 
ken and hilly, remarkably dry, and enjoying 
a reputation for great salubrity. It is near 
the Jackson Eailroad. 

The depth of water at the well seldom ex- 
ceeds five feet. It is said to flow in, at the 
bottom, from three different sources, the wa- 
ters of which differ from each other, so that 
it will be desirable, at some future period, to 
examine the general character of each. As 
it now presents itself, it is an active saline 
chalybeate. 

Temp, of Cooper's Well water, 64° F.; the 
air being at 80° F. 

Taste not unpleasant, and slightly mineral. 
Odor, little or none, although it is said to 
have a marked one of sulphuretted hydro- 
gen: the quantity must, however, be very 
small. Color, transparent, with small yellow 
flakes floating on it. Specific gravity, 1.00147. 
Gas in a wine gallon : — 

Cubic inches. 
Oxygen ....... 6.5 

Nitrogen 4.5 

Carbonic acid 4.0 



298 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 



Solid contents of one gallon are 105 
composed as follows : — 



grains, 











Grains. 


Sulphate of soda 11.705 


Sulphate of magnesia 








23.280 


Sulphate of lime 








42.132 


Sulphate of potash . 








0.608 


Sulphate of alumina 








6.120 


Chloride of sodium . 








8.360 


Chloride of calcium . 








. 4.322 


Chloride of magnesium 








3.480 


Peroxide of iron 








3.352 


Crenate of lime 








0.311 


Crenate of silica 








. 1.801 



105.471 



The deposit from this water by evaporation 
contains, in 100 grains: — 

Grains. 

Water 38 

Chloride of lime 2 

Sulphate of lime ...... 25 

Peroxide of iron 35 

The iron in this water was found altogether 
in the yellow particles which float about, 
although it is more than probable that, at 
certain seasons of the year, it must also be 
found in the clear water. 

The water loses none of its properties by 



cooper's well. 299 

being kept. At all times, when the effects 
of the iron are sought for, the sediment should 
be taken along with the water. 

The concentrated ivater loses nothing by the 
process but a portion of the sulphate of lime, 
which is separated and adheres to the vessel. 

Season for visiting the well — latter part of 
spring, and in the summer, and early autumn. 
The water is quite efficient in winter, and 
many invalids resort to the spot at this 
season. 

Diseases in which Cooper's Well water is 
used : Chronic intestinal ones, unaccompanied 
with organic alterations : it is very useful in 
dyspepsia, inflammation of the bladder, 
dropsy dependent on hepatic or intestinal 
disease, and chronic diarrhoea. 

Dr. Foster's case, reported by J. Mason 
Sims, M. D., Montg'y Ala.: Chronic diar- 
rhoea in its worst form ; extreme emaciation ; 
dry skin; eyes sunken; ghastly expression; 
caused a female to faint at the sight of him ; 
pulse small and feeble ; discharges copious 
and frequent. Began by taking a wineglass- 
ful of the water four times a day, gradually 
increasing until he drank a pint in the course 



300 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

of the day. In eight weeks, returned home 
a well man. 

Ocean Springs. — These are in Jackson Co., 
Lynchburg, Miss. Dr. Austin, of New Or- 
leans, tells us, that the springs are situated 
among the pine hills, five miles from the 
town of Biloxi, and about a half mile from 
the eastern shore of Biloxi Bay, near Fort 
Bayou. This name is derived from a fort 
built there two centuries ago by the French, 
who were under the impression that the 
mouth of Biloxi Bay was the mouth of the 
Mississippi Eiver. The bluff on this shore 
presents a beautiful appearance, is much 
higher than on the other shore of the bay, 
and the land is more elevated and rolling 
than any land on the sea coast between this 
place and the city of New Orleans. 

Analysis. — "Water colorless, even when 
kept for a length of time in bottles, provided 
the bottles be well corked. So soon as opened, 
the water begins to blacken from a deposit 
of sulphuret of iron. The odor of the water 
is that of sulphuretted hydrogen, which the 
water contains in considerable quantity; the 



OCEAN SPRINGS — ANALYSIS. 301 

taste is that known to belong to this class of 
waters. Specific gravity, 1.00082. 
Gaseous contents in one gallon: — 

Grains. 

Carbonic acid 4.632 

Sulphuretted hydrogen .... 0.481 

Solid contents in one gallon : — 

Grains. 

Chloride of sodium 47.770 

Chloride of calcium 3.882 

Chloride of magnesium . 4.989 

Protoxide of iron 4.712 

Iodine, a strong trace. 
Organic matter, trace. 
Chloride of potassium, trace. 
Alumina, trace. 

" The iron is doubtless in combination 
with both the sulphuretted [hydrogen] and 
carbonic acid gases; the excess of carbonic 
acid, holding both these combinations in so- 
lution. 

" The medicinal virtue of these waters is to 
be looked for more particularly in the oxide 
of iron and sulphuretted hydrogen^ both of 
which exist in notable quantities; and it is 
therefore apparent that many chronic dis- 
eases might be cured, or receive important 
26 



302 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

alleviation from these waters. As a bath, it 
could be applied with much advantage." — 
J. Lawrence Smith, M. D. 

"The proximity of these springs to the 
city of New Orleans and the city of Mobile, 
being nearly equidistant (90 miles) from both 
places, constitutes one of its advantages, and 
must, from its eligibility of location, cause it 
to be patronized by the lovers of freedom 
from the foul, reeking streets of southern 
cities, during the summer months." 

Dr. Austin, in a letter accompanying a 
printed account of the Ocean Springs, just 
made use of, writes: "Striking cures have 
been wrought by them in many chronic dis- 
eases — among them were affections of the 
skin, scrofula, dyspepsia, and strumous oph- 
thalmia." 

In Arkansas I shall only notice 
The Hot Springs of Ouachita ( Washitaic). — 
They are situated on a stream called Hot 
Spring Creek, which falls into the Washitaw 
Eiver, eight miles below. They are fifty 
miles south of the Arkansas Eiver, in Clark 
County, Arkansas, and six miles west of the 



HOT SPRINGS OF WASHITAW. 303 

road from Cadriri to Mount Prairie, on Eed 
Eiver. 

The approach to the springs lies up the 
valley of the creek, which is partly made up 
of its waters. On leaving the banks of the 
Washitaw, the face of the country almost 
imperceptibly changes from a rich soil, cover- 
ed with luxuriant growth of trees, to a sterile 
mineral tract, and on coming near the springs 
the traveller is presented with one of the 
most picturesque views in nature. On the 
right hand rises the Hot Mountain, with the 
springs issuing at its foot ; on the left, the 
Cold Mountain, which is little more than a 
confused and mighty pile of stones ; and the 
view in front is terminated by a high point 
of land, which makes down gradually into 
the valley, and separates the creek into two 
forks of nearly equal size. 

The Hot Mountain is about three hundred 
feet high, rising quite steep, and presenting 
occasionally ledges of rocks: it terminates 
at top in a confused mass of broken rocks, 
with here and there a pine or oak tree. Its 
sides, notwithstanding their sterility and the 
steepness of their ascent, are covered with a 



304: MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

most luxuriant growth of vines, particularly 
muscadine, the fruit of which is delicious. 
Haws and blackberries are also found in 
great abundance. 

The Cold Mountain is separated from the 
Hot by a valley of about fifty yards wide, 
through which the creek flows. It resem- 
bles the other mountain in its main features, 
but its sides are destitute of vegetation. 

The springs issue near the foot of the Hot 
Mountain, at an elevation of about ten feet 
above the level of the creek. They are nu- 
merous all along the hill-side, and the water 
which runs in copious streams is quite hot. 
It will scald the hand, and boil an egg hard 
in ten minutes. Dr. Anderson, of Eed Eiver, 
told Mr. Schoolcraft that it could not be 
reckoned over 200° F. There is a solitary 
spring seventy feet higher than the others, 
on the side of the mountain, but it is, also, 
of an equal temperature, and differs in no 
respect from those below. A dense fog con- 
tinually hangs over the springs, and upon 
the side of a hill which, at a distance, looks 
like a number of furnaces in blast. It is 
probably the condensation of this vapor 



NUMBER AND TEMPERATURE. 305 

which produces such a rank growth of vines 
on the side of the mountain. 

The water is clear, pure, and beautiful. It 
deposits no sediment by standing. 

Beautiful green moss grows at the springs, 
near the edges. 

I am indebted to the late Judge Watts for 
the following interesting account of these re- 
markable springs, which I here subjoin. 

" The Hoi Springs of Arkansas, or, as they 
are sometimes called, the Ouachita, are situ- 
ated in Hot Spring County, Arkansas, about 
five miles from Ouachita (Washitaw) Eiver, 
and about sixty miles from Little Eock, in a 
country which is very rocky, and may be 
called mountainous, rather from its charac- 
ter than from any great elevation. They 
are about thirty or forty in number, and 
some of them are very copious in their dis- 
charge, rushing out from under the rocks in 
a volume three feet in width by five or six 
inches in depth. The temperature of the 
springs varies from 140° to 145° (Fah.), and 
is sufficiently hot to scald a hog or a chicken; 
and the water is constantly used for these 
purposes. 

26* 



306 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

" The mode of using the waters, most ge- 
nerally, is by taking a steam bath. For 
this purpose a small building, fifteen feet 
long by five feet wide, is erected. One half 
of it is used for an ante-room, in which to 
dress and undress — the other half is the 
bath room. The floor of the bathing room 
consists of slats which are two inches wide 
and two inches apart, and is placed over 
one of these large springs, which issue from 
the rock. The water throws off the steam, 
which rises between the slats. For the first 
three or four minutes the body is dry, but 
afterwards a profuse perspiratioq breaks out, 
which runs from every pore." " The tem- 
perature of the steam-room is about 116° F. 
This occasions no inconvenience, but for per- 
sons who apprehend a congestion of the ves- 
sels of the head, a hole is made in the roof 
through which a person can breathe the ex- 
ternal air, the body being immersed in steam." 
"The patient usually remains thirty to forty 
minutes in the bathing room, and when he 
comes out, it is not uncommon for two or 
three buckets of cold water to be thrown over 
him in the dressing room. There is no danger 



traxsitios' bathing. 307 

of taking cold if the most ordinary precaution 
is used.* It is not unusual to take a steam 
bath in the forenoon, and a water bath in 
the afternoon. The water bath is frequently 
taken in a creek, into which all the hot 
springs run. After a spell of dry weather, 
it is necessary to go half a mile, and some- 
times three-quarters of a mile below where 
the hot springs run into the creek, before 
the water is of a temperature to bathe in. 
If the water is carried from the spring to a 
bathing tub, it must stand about four hours 
before it can be used. *:**:* 

■& -ft * * •& * -Jf -J* 

* * - : * , * * There have 

been some attempts to analyze the water, but 
I have no faith in any of them. The water 
is much impregnated with lime and magnesia, 

* [Paradoxical as it may seem to tliose ignorant of the 
circumstances under which animal heat is developed, 
there is less danger of taking cold at this time, than if 
the nervous system had not been excited, and the capil- 
laries rendered turgid by the high heat of the vapor ap- 
plied to the surface. This point is fully argued and ex- 
plained in my volume so often referred to in these pages, 
particularly in connection with the Russian vapor bath3 
and " transition bathing."] 



308 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

and the deposit of these substances is very 
great on the mountain, and in the channels 
in which the water runs, and leaves and 
sticks are continually petrified into a kind of 
rotten stone, composed of lime and magnesia. 

" The water may be drank without nausea 
as soon as the throat can bear it, and if a little 
salt be put into it, it could not be distinguish- 
ed from chicken broth. The best season for 
the use of the water is late in the fall, and 
in the winter and spring. Every species of 
chronic disease is cured by these waters, to 
wit: rheumatism, gout, scrofula, venereal, 
mercurial, erysipelas, consequences of mea- 
sles, of scarlet fever, and of whooping cough, 
and all diseases occasioned by obstructions. 

" Three miles from the Hot Springs is a 
very fine chalybeate spring, and at the dis- 
tance of forty miles, at a place called Irons, 
is a spring of highly exhilarating properties, 
so much so as to produce a species of intoxi- 
cation.* The mode of access to the waters 
when the rivers are high, is by ascending the 

* [Doubtless an acidulous or highly carbonated water, 
probably holding in solution carbonates of soda and lime.] 



THEIR THERAPEUTIC VALUE. 309 

Arkansas to Little Eock, sixty miles from 
which the springs are situated ; but as the 
Arkansas is not always navigable, there is a 
route by way of White Eiver, to Eock Eow, 
from thence by stage sixty miles to Little 
Eock. This route is always accessible." 

Dr. Bennet Dowler, the enthusiastic inves- 
tigator of physiological and pathological 
phenomena, was kind enough to answer my 
request to him for information, by the follow- 
ing valuable details : — 

"The therapeutic value of these Hot 
Springs is held in high estimation in the 
South, and many cases have been reported, 
verbally, among the non-professional public, 
although most persons regard the efficacy of 
the waters as depending chiefly or entirely 
upon their temperature. They are regarded 
as most useful in rheumatism, contraction 
of the limbs, cutaneous diseases, &c. They 
are used not only externally, but internally. 

" The number of these hot springs arising 
near each other, from the declivity, near the 
bases of two opposite hills (400 or 500 feet 
high), has been variously stated. Dr. Hen- 
derson, of New Orleans, counted seventy-five, 



310 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

Judge Watts, of this city, reckons about 
thirty. The number given by the Eev. T. 
Flint, the late able geographer of the Valley 
of the Mississippi, agrees with the latter. 
Mr. Flint says that the valley where these 
springs arise runs north and south, convey- 
ing in a southern direction a small stream to 
the Washita Eiver, seven miles distant ; that 
thirty springs arise on the east side of this 
valley, and but one on the west, and that the 
water hardens an egg in fifteen minutes. 

" Mr. Featherstonhaugh, in his official Geo- 
logical Eeport, in 1835, says that these lofty 
ridges consist of old red sandstone formation. 
The eastern ridge has towards the top a dense 
forest of pines and oaks, fragments of the 
rock, often ferruginous, with conglomerate 
held together by ferruginous cement ; upon 
the flank of this ridge, Mr. F. found travertin, 
deposited by the mineral waters, extending 
one hundred and fifty yards, leaning upon 
the acclivity of the old red sandstone, pre- 
senting sometimes abrupt escarpments of 
from fifteen to twenty-five feet. l Some of 
the springs, he says, rise in the bed of the 
stream — one very fine one on its west bank, 



SITUATION FOR A TOWN". 311 

and numerous others, of which perhaps 80 
rather copious ones are found at various 
heights on the ridge, rising through the old 
red sandstone. Of springs of feebler force 
there are a great many. Some issue from 
the rock at an elevation of at least one hun- 
dred feet from the valley where the present 
log cabins are built. A more beautiful and 
singularly convenient situation for a town 
cannot be imagined, for by the aid of the simp- 
lest frames to support spouts, the hot water 
may be conveyed to the houses in great pro- 
fusion, for baths and medicinal purposes, as 
well as for domestic uses. (These arrange- 
ments have, as Dr. D. learns, been made.) Upon 
repeated trials, I found the water of some of 
the principal springs to be 146° F., never 
higher.' From the Hot Springs occupying 
a breadth equal to four hundred yards of the 
base of the ridge, all the hot water was dis- 
charged into the creek, which, in many 
parts, was of a temperature just fitted for a 
warm bath ; and what further assists to keep 
up its temperature, is the great number 
of hot springs rising through the slate at 
the bottom of the brook. ' This can be seen 



312 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

at almost a hundred places, and although the 
water does not scald the hand there, still, 
upon insinuating my fingers a few inches be- 
low the ground, at the edge of the stream, I 
was obliged to retire them instantly, having 
more than once burned them in that way. If 
this stream were turned, it is incredible the 
quantity of water of a temperature perhaps 
always equal to 145° F., which might be ob- 
tained. These mineral hot waters, except 
one or two of the springs, which are slightly 
chalybeates, are tasteless, having not the 
least saline trace ; but immense deposits of 
the carbonate of lime attest the contrary. 
The thermal waters rise in a very limpid 
state, but as soon as they get into motion, 
and their parts become exposed to the atmo- 
sphere, a mineral deposit commences, attach- 
ing itself to dead leaves, to sticks, to anything 
that serves for a point of adhesion ; upon 
this ' deposit a brilliant green enamelled 
looking substance presents itself, which in- 
creases and thickens in favorable situa- 
tions.' Mr. F. did not analyze these wa- 
ters, though he says ' their gaseous volume 



VARIED USES OF. 818 

is insignificant — azote and a trace of carbonic 
acid. The solid contents are carbonate of 
lime, carbonate of iron, and a trace of the 
sulphate of lime.' 

" Dr. Cartwright, late of Natchez, now of 
New Orleans, informs me that he has obtain- 
ed magnets of uncommon power from these 
springs. 

"A correspondent of Professor Silliman's 
Journal represents the temperature of the 
springs as ranging from 154° to 156° F., in 
July, 1837, that they discharge from one 
barrel to fifty gallons of water per minute. 
and that their latitude is 34° 30' N. 

" Several persons have assured me that the 
temperature of the water is exactly adapted 
to those processes of domestic economy call- 
ed scalding hogs, fowls, &c; and that, at 
certain seasons and places, the hot water 
having entered the brook, and overlying the 
cold water of the latter, does not prevent fish 
from living in the lower stratum." 

The Hot Springs of "Washitaw are, as re- 
spects elevated temperature, in the same class 
with the famed ones of Baden-Baden, "Wis- 
27 



314 31IZSTERAL A3TD THERMAL SPRINGS. 

baden, Teplitz, and Carlsbad,- and nearly all 
that is said of the curative powers of these 

* The celebrated Unsprung, at Baden-Baden, is lo4° 
F. A pint of the water contains 23 grains of saline mat- 
ter, of -which 16 grains are chloride of sodium. Five or 
six glasses, in all about two pints and a half of the water, 
are drunk, at intervals, before breakfast. The chief reli- 
ance, however, is on the baths, the indiscriminate use of 
which has been productive of fatal effects in some cases. 
Carlsbad Springs (in Bohemia) are fourteen in 
number, of which the Sprudel is the hottest and the most 
famous. Its temperature is 168° F., that of two others 
144° and 137 D F. The water holds in solution 44 grains of 
solid matters to a pint, 37 grains of which consist of the 
sulphates, carbonates, and muriates of soda, with traces 
of iron and iodine. The taste of the water very much 
resembles that of weak chicken broth, with a fat 
and alkaline savor. As a drink it must be taken at first 
in small quantities. It is now used more internally than 
externally. 

The Teplitz Springs (in Bohemia) have a range of tem- 
perature from 84° F. to 120°. Their chief ingredi 
carbonate of soda, in the proportion of two or three 
grains to a pint. The long ranges of bath-house: 
public and private, are on a grand scale. At TVashitaw 
there is every inducement to rival Teplitz in these struc- 
tures, and if, as a writer has said, there ought to be a 
mart at this Bohemian watering place for the sale of 
crutches which are no longer needed, we may readily see 
that the day will come when a second-hand shop for the 
same purpose may be set up at our Arkansas Springs. 



TO WHAT CASES APPLICABLE. 315 

waters, when used as a bath, is applicable to 
our own. The same precautions are neces- 
sary in the one case as the other, when re- 
course is had to a bath at a temperature be- 
yond 100° F., and still more when it approach- 
es the upward limits of what can be barely 
borne on immersion in the Washitaw wa- 
ters. Persons in confirmed phthisis, or who 
have suffered from hemorrhages, or who at 
the time have hemorrhoids, the plethoric, 
with fulness of the vessels of the head, and 
in fine all who are laboring under acute dis- 
ease of any description, must shun the use 
of these waters at their higher temperature. 

On the other hand, recourse to them will 
be had with considerable confidence in para- 
lysis, and in chronic rheumatism and gout, in 
biliary and renal calculi, constipation, chronic 
enlargements of the liver and spleen, chronic 
cutaneous diseases, obstructed or suspended 
menstruation, and in a variety of nervous 
affections. In all these cases the internal use 
of the water should be conjoined with its em- 
ployment as a bath. 

With the abundant supply of hot w T ater 
from the numerous springs at Washitaw, it 



316 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

would be an easy matter to have every va- 
riety of baths on a large scale, viz : A piscina 
or swimming bath,a leukerbad, if it were 
desirable, and douches after every model of 
temperature, size, and force. 

The soup-like taste of this water, mention- 
ed by Judge Watts, is the same as that de- 
scribed by visitors to some of the German 
Spas, and proceeds from the same cause, viz: 
the azotized or organic matter which they 
contain, and to which reference has been al- 
ready made, when speaking of the Blue Sul- 
phur Spring, in Virginia. 

An extensive suite of vapor baths might 
be made at the Washitaw Springs, so as to 
allow of the use of this active means of cure 
of many diseases, both alone and in connec- 
tion with other forms of bathing. The tem- 
perature of the vapor introduced into the 
somewhat primitive bath, as described by 
Judge Watts, is as high as at any time ne- 
cessary, and higher than is required or pro- 
per in most cases. A vapor bath, at 100° F. 
will answer most purposes, unless it be de- 
sired to produce strong excitement. At a 
lower degree, as 90° F., it will be found to be 



EFFECTS OF VAPOR BATHING. 317 

a very soothing remedy in diseases of irrita- 
tion, and even inflammatory excitement. On 
all the points connected with the uses of vapor 
bathing, and its application to different dis- 
eases, I have written with some fulness in 
my volume on Baths, &c. I will merely re- 
peat what is there said of its physiological 
action, as suggestive of its therapeutical ap- 
plication and the various indications which 
it may be supposed to meet. 

" The inert and partially collapsed capil- 
lary vessels of the true skin acquire more 
vitality and fulness from the afflux of blood 
to them, in consequence of the heat of the 
vapor, and they are more ready to supply 
the secretion of sweat. There is, at the same 
time, alarge imbibition of moisture, and conse- 
quently augmented size of the lymphatic and 
venous absorbents. We have then two con- 
ditions, viz : fulness of the arterial capilla- 
ries by afflux of blood, and fulness of the 
absorbents by the watery fluid introduced, 
which give a plumpness and roundness to 
the skin and cellular tissue, observed in 
those who have just left the bath. 1 ' 
27* 



318 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

Florida can boast of her more than two 
thousand Mineral and Thermal Springs, on the 
authority of a writer, some time back, in the 
Floridian Journal. As yet, however, it is 
all boast, as far as anything like a detailed 
knowledge of the alleged fact is possessed by 
others than the writer himself. He tells us, 
indeed, that their principal solid contents are 
the sulphates of lime, magnesia, and soda, 
oxide of iron and some iron. Their volatile 
ingredients consist of sulphuretted hydrogen, 
carbonic acid and nitrogen gases. I should 
feel greatly indebted to this gentleman, and 
to others resident in different parts of Flo- 
rida, by their communicating to me au- 
thentic details in their possession, or procura- 
ble by them, on this confessedly very im- 
portant subject. 

The writer referred to speaks of the 
"Natural wonders" of the State, especially 
under the hydrographic head. He says, 
" The upper stratum of Florida rests on one 
vast network of irregular arches of stupen- 
dous magnitude, through which innumerable 
rivers, creeks, and mineral w r aters, in silent 
darkness perpetually flow. Walkulla, Ocilla, 



FLORIDA SPRINGS. 819 

Warcissa, Crystal, Homosassa, Chesiouitska, 
Wickawatcha, and Silver Spring, are the 
principal rivers. The creeks of this denomi- 
nation are too numerous to mention; most of 
them afford fine mill-sites. They are, too, 
partly or wholly navigable for the smaller 
class of steam and sail vessels throughout 
the entire distance of their subterraneous 
courses. Those that are not can be made so 
with comparatively small trouble and little 
expense." 

Sulphur Spring near Tampa. — This spring, 
which is a white sulphur, bubbles up from 
the crevices of limestone, about a hundred 
yards up a tributary of the Hillsborough 
Eiver, and eight miles up this latter. It 
forms a basin eighteen feet deep, the water of 
which is very limpid. 

Mention may be made, also, of the Magno- 
lia,* the AYalake, and the Enterprise Springs, 
on St. John's Eiver; and those on the Su- 
wannee — all sulphureous. 

* Dr. N. Benedict, formerly of Philadelphia, and after- 
wards of Utica (N. Y.), well and advantageously known 
in both places, has established a sanatarium at Magnolia, 
for the reception of invalids who wish to spend the winter 
in a southern climate. 



320 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 



CHAPTEE XVI. 

Mineral and Thermal Springs between the Mississippi 
and Pacific Ocean — Thermal Spring of Fort Laramie 
— Situation of the fort — Soda or Sal iEratus Ponds — 
Beer Springs on Bear River — Their situation and tem- 
perature — Analysis — Hillocks formed by the waters 
— Steamboat Spring — Why so called — Properties of its 
water — Other like springs adjoining — Extinct volcano 
near the Beer Springs — Boiling (Acidulous) Springs of 
Pike's Peak — Analysis of Saline accumulations at this 
spot — Temperature of the water. 

MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS BETWEEN 
THE MISSISSIPPI AND THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 

The vast regions extending from 95° "W\ 
long., or from the western limits of Iowa, 
Missouri and Arkansas, to the Pacific Ocean, 
are remarkable, among other great natural 
traits, for the number and variety of their 
mineral and thermal springs. Some of these 
are in the territories of Nebraska, Kansas, and 
New Mexico ; many in Oregon, and in Utah 
around the Great Salt Lake, and not a few 
in California. 



THERMAL SPRING OF FORT LARAMIE. 321 

Thermal Spring of Fort Laramie. — This 
spring, mentioned by Captains Fremont and 
Stansbury, in their respective narratives, is 
situated in a narrow defile, being the bed 
of a creek, shaded by precipitous rocks, ten 
miles west from Fort Laramie. It gushes with 
considerable noise and force out of a lime- 
stone rock, and soon forms a small stream 
called Warm Spring Creek. Temperature 
74° F., which is that of the Sweet Springs in 
Virginia. The land about here is table, and 
lies between the North Fork of the Platte, 
and the Laramie Kivers. 

Fort Laramie itself is in 104° 47' W. Ion., 
and about 42° 15' N. lat., distant one and a 
half miles from the Platte Eiver, at the end of 
the Laramie Valley, and 625 'miles from St. 
Joseph's, on the western limits of Missouri. 
It is in the southern part of Nebraska, and 
on the great emigrant route to Oregon, on 
the projected line of the Central Eailroad to 
the Pacific. 

Ponds of Sal JEratus. — Still in Nebraska, 
near to the Oregon line, and between Eock 
Independence on the east, and South Pass on 
the west, are found three ponds, on extensive 



322 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

salt plains, in the valley of the Sweet "Water 
Eiver, above the Devil's Gate, where it 
breaks through the mountains. To ' be 
more specific, it ought to be said, that 
here the traveller meets with saline incrusta- 
tions, and solutions of sesquicarbonate of 
soda, and muriate and sulphate of soda, in 
proportions not yet determined. These salts 
thus combined, are found in the Natron lakes 
of Hungary, Africa, and other countries. 
The chief of these ponds appeared to Cap- 
tain Stansbury as if frozen over, and covered 
with a very light fall of drifting snow. It was 
found to be a slight depression about 400 
yards long, by 150 in width, covered with an 
efflorescence of carbonate of soda, left by the 
evaporation of the water which had held it 
in solution. This substance is quite abund- 
ant on the banks of the river, and it is used 
by the emigrants for making their bread, in 
preference to the sal seratus of the shops. 

Soda or Beer (Carbonated) Springs. — Con- 
tinuing on the great emigrant route to Ore- 
gon and the Pacific, along the north fork of 
Platte Eiver, and having passed Eock Tnde- 



SOUTH PASS. 323 

pendence, the traveller finds himself at the 
South Pass, called by Fremont, "the great 
gate through which commerce and travel- 
ling may hereafter pass between the Val- 
ley of the Mississippi and the North Pa- 
cific." Its elevation above the Gulf of Mex- 
ico is 7,490 feet, and its width 20 miles. 
Being distant from the month of Oregon 
Eiver about 1400 miles, by the common- 
ly travelled route, it may be assumed to 
be about half-way between the Mississippi 
and the Pacific Ocean, still on this route. 
The South Pass is through the Wind Eiver 
Mountains, a part of the great range of 
the Eocky Mountains which separate the 
waters flowing into the Atlantic from those 
that find their way into the Pacific. 

We are now in Oregon, at its southeastern 
ande and not far from the northern bound- 
ary of Utah. Were a direct line to be fol- 
lowed northwest from the Pass, it would lead, 
at a distance of about one hundred and thirty 
miles, to the remarkable Beer Springs. Fol- 
lowing the emigrant route and that taken by 
Captain Fremont and his party, which goes 
far south, touching on the Green Eiver, the 



324 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

distance to the valley of Bear Eiver is 185 
miles, and thence to the springs near one 
hundred more. 

The Beer Springs are in an amphitheatre 
of mineral waters, which is inclosed by the 
mountains that sweep around a circular bend 
of the Bear Eiver, at its most northern 
point in the territory of Oregon. This 
stream, which so far had pursued a north- 
ern course, now takes a southern direction, 
and ultimately empties into the Great Salt 
Lake. We shall again meet with it in our 
thermal and hydrological tour round the 
lake. " In the bed of the river for a space 
of several hundred yards, these springs are 
very abundant; the effervescing gas rising 
up and agitating the waters in countless bub- 
bling columns." This effervescence and their 
acidulous taste caused the first voyageurs and 
trappers to call them Beer Springs. They 
were often half hidden by tufts of grass, 
which Capt. F. and his party amused them- 
selves in removing, and searching about for 
more highly impregnated waters. Some of 
them are deep and of various sizes, some- 



BEER SPRING — ANALYSIS. 325 

times several yards in diameter. A grove 
of cedars adjoins the springs. 

The temperature of the water of the largest 
spring was, at sunset, 65° F., at an elevation 
of 5,840 feet, that of the air being 62.°5 F. 
They are in 42° 40' N. lat., and 111° 46' W. 
long. On the following morning, at sunrise, 
the temperature of the same water was 56°, 
that of the air being 28. °5 F. An analysis 
of one quart of water of the Beer Spring, as 
reported in Col. Fremont's Eeport, yielded 
the following results : — 

Sulphate of magnesia 12.10 

Sulphate of lime 2.12 

Carbonate of lime 3.86 

Carbonate of magnesia . . . .3.22 

Chloride of calcium . . . . .1.33 
Chloride of magnesium . . . .1.12 

Chloride of sodium 2.24 

Vegetable extractive matter . . . .0.85 

26.84 

The carbonic acid had escaped from the 
water before the analysis was made. The 
proportion of the gas is doubtless very con- 
siderable. 

Captain Fremont, in wandering through the 
cedar grove which was the seat of his en- 
28 



326 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

carapment, in the bottom towards the moun- 
tain, noticed saline efflorescences, and a num- 
ber of regularly shaped and very remarkable 
hillocks. These latter have been formed by 
the gradual deposit from the waters of ex- 
tinct springs, the orifices through which they 
found issue being still visible at the summits. 
Some of them resemble funnel-shaped cones. 
At another spot, a little higher up the mea- 
dow, he saw several remarkable white and 
red hillocks, which are immediately on a 
small stream that flows into Bear Eiver. 
They are formed like the ones just mentioned, 
but the openings on their summits were much 
larger, so as to resemble miniature craters, 
and some of them were several feet in diameter. 
At the foot of one of the hillocks, or rather 
on its side near the base, are several small 
limestone columns, about one foot in diame- 
ter at the base, and tapering upwards to a 
height of three or four feet. On the summit 
the water is seen boiling and bubbling up, 
and constantly adding to the height of the 
little columns. 

Steamboat Spring, — In the vicinity of the 
Beer Springs were numerous other ones of 



STEAMBOAT SPRING. 327 

an entirely different and equally marked 
character, which remind us of the Geysers, 
and other volcanic phenomena of Iceland. 

" In the vicinity around were numerous 
springs of an entirely different and equally 
marked character. In a rather picturesque 
spot about 1,300 yards below our encamp- 
ment, and immediately on the river bank, is 
the most remarkable spring of the place. 
From the opening in the rock, a whole 
column of scattered water is thrown up in 
the form of a jet d'eau, to a variable height 
of about three feet ; and though it is main- 
tained in a constant supply, its greatest 
height is attained only at regular intervals, 
according to the action of the force below 
It is accompanied by a subterranean noise, 
which, together with the motion of the water, 
makes very much the impression of a steam- 
boat in motion, and without knowing that 
it had been previously so called, we gave 
to it the name of the Steamboat Spring. 
The rock through which it is forced is slight- 
ly raised in a curved manner, and at its 
mouth presents an urn-like appearance. It 
is evidently formed by a continued deposit 



328 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

from the water, and is colored bright by ox- 
ide of iron." The chemical composition of 
the water may be inferred from that of the 
deposit, an analysis of which is subjoined.* 
This is a thermal spring. Temperature 87° 
F. " The water has a pungent and disagree- 
able metallic taste, leaving a burning effect 
on the tongue. 

" Within perhaps two yards of the jet cFeau 
is a small hole of about an inch in diameter, 
through which, at regular intervals, escapes 
a blast of hot air, with a light wreath of 
smoke, accompanied by a regular noise." 
The inhaling of this vapor (probably carbonic 
acid gas) produces a sensation of giddiness 
and nausea. 

" A short distance above the spring, and 
near the foot of the same spur, is a very re- 
markable colored rock, soft and friable, con- 

* Carbonate of lime . . . .92.55 

Carbonate of magnesia .... 0.42 

Oxide of iron 1.05 

Silica -v 

Alumina, L 5.98 

Water and Loss J 

100.00 



OTHEE HOT SPRINGS. 329 

sisting, principally, of carbonate of lime and 
oxide of iron, of regular structure, which is 
probably fossil coral." 

Walking near one of the remarkable red 
colored hills previously described, close to the 
encampment, Fremont had his attention at- 
tracted by a subterranean noise around which 
he circled repeatedly, until he found the pre- 
cise spot whence it came. On removing the 
red earth, he discovered a previously hidden 
spring, which was boiling up with force : the 
water has the same disagreeable metallic taste 
as that of the Steamboat Spring. In some of 
the columnar fountains of which notice has 
been already taken, the water boils up, but 
no longer overflows. It has the same taste 
as that just mentioned. 

A little higher up the small stream or 
creek, previously adverted to, its banks are 
formed by strata of a very heavy and hard 
micaceous basalt, having a bright metallic 
lustre when broken. In this direction, at 
the foot of a mountain spur, the traveller so 
often quoted, saw issuing from a compact 
rock of a dark blue color, a great number of 
28* 



330 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

springs having the same pungent and disa- 
greeable metallic taste already mentioned, 
and the water of which was collected into a 
very remarkable basin, the bottom and sides 
of which were composed of an interweaving 
of mosses three or four, and sometimes ten feet 
high,incrusted and cemented by the calcareous 
deposit from the water itself. The basin is, 
perhaps, fifty yards in circumference, and 
three or four feet deep. Below this, again, 
is another basin of very clear water, and ap- 
parently of considerable depth, from the bot- 
tom of which gas was largely evolved. The 
overflowing water was collected into a small 
stream, which, after a few hundred yards, 
s^nk under ground, reappearing among the 
rocks between the two great springs, near 
the river into which it flowed, while forming 
a little cascade. 

A little to the w r est of the Beer Spring is an 
isolated hill, terminated by " a very perfect 
crater, of an oval or nearly circular form, 
three hundred and sixty paces in circum- 
ference, and sixty feet at its greatest depth. 
The thin and stony soil of the plain adjoin- 
ing, was entirely underlaid by the basalt 



CARBONATED SPRINGS OF PIKE'S PEAK. 331 

which forms the walls of the river, distant 
two miles." 

The Carbonated or Boiling Springs of Pike's 
Peak. — If from the mouth of the Kansas, at In- 
dependence, in Missouri, we take the southern 
route for Oregon and California, we soon 
come to Pike's Peak, after passing through 
Puebla. Ten miles from this place, and at 
the foot of the Peak, break out the Carbon- 
ated or Boiling Springs, near the head of 
the river of this name. They are at 
an elevation of 6,350 feet above the ocean, 
in lat. 38° 52' K, and long. 105° 22' W.; 
and are situated on both sides of the river : 
on one side there are two different local- 
ities in which they appear — an upper and a 
lower. Capt. Fremont describes the spot and 
his approach to it in the following terms : — * 

" I came suddenly upon a large, smooth 
rock about twenty yards in diameter, where 
the water from several springs was bubbling 
and boiling up in the midst of a white in- 

* A Report of the Exploring Expedition to the Rocky- 
Mountains and to Oregon and North California. 



332 MINERAL AND THEBMAL SPRINGS. 

crustation, with which it had covered a por- 
tion of the rock. As this did not correspond 
with a description given me by the hunters, 
I did not stop to taste the water, but, dis- 
mounting, walked a little way up the river, 
already become a torrent, foaming along, and 
broken by a small fall. A deer which had 
been drinking at the spring, was startled by 
my approach, and springing across the river, 
bounded off up the mountain. In the upper 
part of the rock, which had, apparently, been 
formed by deposition, was a beautiful white 
basin, overhung by currant bushes, in which 
the cold, clear water bubbled up, in constant 
motion by the escaping gas, and overflowing 
the rock, which it had almost entirely cover- 
ed with a smooth crust of glistening white." 

The springs on the opposite side of the 
river are entirely of the same nature. 

The water is highly carbonated, and ranks 
in the acidulous class. It was represented 
by Mr. Preuss, a companion of Capt. Fremont, 
to resemble very much that of the famous 
Seltzer Springs, in the Grand Duchy of Nas- 
sau. It is still more agreeable than that of 
the famous Beer Springs. 



INCRUSTED MATTER. 333 

The incrustation with, which the water 
covered a piece of wood lying on the 
rock, was composed of the following saline 
substances : — 



Carbonate of lime 92.25 

Carbonate of magnesia . . . .1.21 
Sulp hate of lime -\ 

Chloride of calcium V 23 

Chloride of magnesium ) 

Silica . " 1.50 

Vegetable matter . . . . . .20 

Moisture and loss 4.61 

100.00 

The temperature, early in the morning, 
July 19th, of the lower spring was 57.°8,. 
and that of the upper 54.°3 F. On the pre- 
ceding day, when the temperature of the air 
was 73° F., that of the two springs in the 
sun was, respectively, 60.°5, and 69° F. 



331 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Springs in Utah and around the Great Salt Lake — Sul- 
phur Springs of Bitter Creek — City of the Great Salt 
Lake — Its situation — Copious supply of water — City 
AVarm Sulphur Spring — Hot Spring — Warm Fountains 
— Hot Chalybeate Red Springs — Analysis of their depo- 
sit — Bear River Hot Spring — Salt and Sulphur Springs 
— Thermal and Saline Springs — Spring Valley and 
Thermal Saline Springs — Warm Springs of Lake Utah 
— Water of the Great Salt Lake. 

MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS NEAR THE 
GREAT SALT LAKE IN UTAH. 

On the route from the east through Utah, 
the traveller meets with two Sulphur Springs. 
These are near a fork of Bitter Creek. Ar- 
rived at the lake, we will suppose him to 
visit the Mormon city of the Great Salt Lake, 
the capital of what its people call Deseret, we 
Utah. Situated as the Mormons are, in a re- 
gion of thermal springs, we may expect to 
see them imitate the Turks and other oriental 
nations in the number of their baths, and 



GREAT SALT LAKE CITY. 335 

their fondness for thermal bathing, as they 
have already imitated them in their habits of 
polygamy. 

The Great Salt Lake City, as described 
by Captain Stansbury,* is nine miles south- 
east of the lake, and between it and the 
Utah Lake, from which last it is distant 
25 miles. The city is on the river Jordan,, 
which connects the two lakes by flowing from 
the Salt Lake to the Utah. It lies at the 
western base of the Wahsatch Mountains, in 
a curve formed by a projection westward of 
the main range. This city is interesting in a 
hydrographical point of view. On the east it 
is washed by the w T aters of the Jordan, while 
to the southward, for twenty-five miles, ex- 
tends a broad level plain, watered by several 
little streams, which, flowing down the 
eastern hills, form the great elements of 
wealth of the community. Through the 
city itself flows an unfailing stream of pure 
sweet water, wdiich, by an ingenious mode of 
irrigation, is made to traverse each side of 
every street, whence it is led into every gar- 
den spot, spreading life, and verdure, and 

* Expedition to the Great Salt Lake. 



336 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

beauty over what was heretofore a barren 
waste. 

City Warm Sulphur Spring. — Already the 
water of this spring, which issues from a 
mountain on the northern confines of the 
city, has been conducted by pipes into a com- 
modious bathing-house for the use of the in- 
habitants. 

The water is sulphureous, being strongly 
impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen. 
The solid contents, after evaporation, were a 
very minute proportion of chloride of calci- 
um, carbonates of lime and magnesia, and 
sulphate of soda, with only one per cent, 
of chloride of sodium. 

Hot Spring. — At the western point of the 
same spur of the mountain just noticed, 
three miles distant, another spring flows in a 
bold stream from beneath a perpendicular 
rock, with a temperature of 128° F., too high 
to admit of the immersion of the hand. At 
the base of the hill it forms a little lake, 
which in the autumn and winter, is covered 
with large flocks of water-fowl, attracted by 
the genial atmosphere of the water. Its 
specific gravity is very slightly more than 



WARM FOUNTAINS AND HOT SPRINGS. 337 

that of distilled water. The solid contents 
in one hundred pints were 1.1454. It con- 
tains, as we learn from Dr. Gale, chloride of 
sodium, one in a hundred parts, and shows 
traces of chlorides of magnesium and of cal- 
cium, carbonate and sulphate of lime and silica: 
these last two in the same proportion. 

Warm Fountains. — On the eastern side of 
the lake, near the city, between the latter and 
the Hot Spring, are, Lieutenant Gunnison 
tells us, numerous warm fountains, which de- 
posit gypsum, and other sulphates. These 
waters give delightful baths, but they destroy 
the fertility of the soil. 

Hot Chalybeate Heel Springs. — Thirty-four 
miles north of the city, these springs issue from 
the spur of a mountain range on the east 
side of the lake, and between Ogden City 
on the south, and Bright Creek on the 
north. To the east of them is the mountain 
range. The Eed Springs derive their name 
from the iron which they deposit, and which 
colors the ground with a deep crimson. Salt 
flats extend from the lake to this point. 

These are, most probably, the springs of 
which Fremont speaks, as follows : " In 
29 



338 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

about seven miles from Clear Creek, the trail 
brought us to a place at the foot of the moun- 
tain, where there issued, with considerable 
force, ten or twelve hot springs, highly im- 
pregnated with salt. In one of them the ther- 
mometer stood at 136°, and in another at 
132° 5' F., and the water which spread in 
pools over the low ground, was colored red." 
(p. 150.) At the time of this adventurous 
traveller's visit, there was no city, no habit- 
ation, nor the voice of a single civilized being 
to be heard on the shores of the Great Lake ; 
so that we derive no aid by bearings from 
the city of any of the springs which he de- 
scribes, as is the case with some of those 
noticed by Stansbury and Gunnison. 

Fremont furnishes an analysis of the red 
earthy matter deposited in the bed of the 
stream made by the springs, which gave the 
following result : — 

Grains. 

Peroxide of iron 33.50 

Carbonate of magnesia . . . .2.40 
Carbonate of lime . . . . .50.43 
Sulphate of lime ..... 2.00 

Chloride of sodium 3.45 

Silica and alumina . . . . .3.00 

Water and loss 5.22 

100.00 



BEAR RIVER SPRINGS. 339 

Bear River Hot and Warm Springs. — Near 
the Bear Eiver, and within a few feet of each 
other, are springs which Gunnison describes 
as issuing between different strata of con- 
glomerate and limestone. One of them is a 
hot sulphur, the second warm and salt, and the 
third cool, drinkable water. They issue at 
the foot of a flanking terrace of hills, twelve 
miles below the "gates," where the Bear 
Eiver breaks through the "Wahsatch range ; 
and they have excavated for themselves a 
circular pool, fifteen feet deep, with sloping 
sides, and a deep channel leading into a 
meadow. At numerous places fine salt is 
brought up and jets of gas are emitted. The 
salt forms an incrustation around the pool, 
and is pure enough for table use.* 

These are, it seems to me, the same ther- 
mal springs noticed by Fremont (p. 159), 
when he ascended for a short distance the 
valley of Bear Eiver, from the lake. " Con- 
tinuing," he says, " along the foot of these 
hills, in the afternoon we found five or six 

* Lieut. Gunnison. — Report to Captain Stansbury, in 
" Expedition to the Great Salt Lake." 



340 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

hot springs gushing out together, beneath a 
conglomerate, consisting principally of frag- 
ments of a grayish-blue limestone, efflores- 
cing a salt upon the surface. The tempera- 
ture of these springs was 134° F., and the 
rocks in the bed were colored with a red de- 
posit, and there was common salt crystallized 
on the margin. There was, also, a white in- 
crustation upon leaves and roots, consisting 
principally of carbonate of lime." Lat. 41° 
42' K, long. 112° 05' W. 

Salt and Sulphur Springs. — Numerous salt 
and sulphur springs break out from the bank 
of the southern extremity of the rocky 
range where it juts into the northern end of 
the lake. The strata here are contorted, and 
in some places nearly perpendicular. 

Thermal Saline Springs. — Stan sbury speaks 
of what he calls a Warm Saline, of 74° F., 
breaking out from the mountain, at the prai- 
rie on the northern end of the lake, and 
of another so-called Warm Spring, with a 
temperature of 84° F. Independently of the 
common mistake of designating as warm any 
spring the water of which is at a sensibly 
higher temperature than that of the common 



THERMAL SALINE SPRINGS. 341 

springs of the region of country in which it 
is found, the leader and authors of the " Ex- 
pedition" may find a natural excuse in the 
fact, that when they made their observations, 
the temperature of the air was 30° F., or two 
degrees below freezing point. It may easily 
be conceived, therefore, that persons engaged 
in a survey, with their fingers cold, if not 
benumbed by the frosty air, should experi- 
ence a grateful sensation approaching to that 
of warmth, by immersion of these members 
in water at 84° and even 74° F. 

The whole western shore of the Salt Lake 
is bounded by an immense level plain, con- 
sisting of soft mud, often partially traversed by 
small meandering rills of salt and sulphureous 
water, and occasionally by springs of fresh 
water, all of which sink into the earth, or 
are absorbed and evaporated before they 
reach the lake. There are Salt Pools near 
Deer Creek. 

Spring Valley — Thermal Saline Springs. — 
— On the western side of the mountain which 
extends in a southerly direction, from near 
the south end of the Salt Lake, and at the 
edge of the prairie, are springs so numerous 
29* 



342 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

as to give a name to the valley. They are 
all saline. Temperature 74° F. Near the 
northern point of the mountain is a very 
large spring, which discharges its waters 
into the lake. The water was very salt, 
nauseous, and bitter, with a temperature of 
70° F., notwithstanding which it swarmed 
with innumerable small fish, and seemed to 
be a favorite resort for pelicans and gulls. 

Near Spring Valley, on the east, but separa- 
ted from it by mountain ridges, is Tuilla Val- 
ley, as it is called by the Mormons. Here is 
excellent pasturage for numerous herds of 
cattle, which are wintered under the charge 
of keepers. 

Warm Springs of Lake Utah. — Near to the 
junction of the Eiver Jordan with the lake 
are warm springs. 

Water of the Great Salt Lake. — This water 
has been examined by Dr. Gale (Washington 
City). It was perfectly clear, and had a spe- 
cific gravity of 1.170, water being 1.000. 
One hundred parts, by weight, evaporated to 
dryness in a sand bath, gave of solid contents 
22.422, consisting of chloride of sodium 
20.196, sulphate of soda 1.834, chloride of 



THE WATER OF GREAT SALT LAKE. 343 

magnesium 0.252, chloride of calcium, a 
trace. 

The water of this lake is declared by Dr. 
Gale to be one of the purest and most con- 
centrated brines in the world. The strongest 
of the salines in the state of New York — that 
of Syracuse — contains 17.35 per cent, of 
chloride of sodium. 



344: MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 



CHAPTEE XVIII. 

Fort Hall — American Falls of Snake Kiver — Fishing Falls 
— Hot Springs — Malheur River Hot Springs — Soda and 
Salt Plain — Hot and Warm Springs of Fall River — 
Hot Springs of Pyramid Lake — Springs of California 
— Hot Spring of Shasty Peak — Acidulo-Chalybeate 
Spring of Shasty Peak — Volcanic Springs — Earth- 
quake — Spouting Springs — Hot Sulphur Springs — 
Springs of New Mexico — Ojo Caliente. 

Taking the Beer Springs as his point 
of departure, the emigrant or traveller, 
who is bound for the mouth of the Co- 
lumbia Eiver, will proceed in a north- 
westerly direction to Fort Hall, a distance of 
fifty miles. The fort is in a rich valley, 21 
miles long, near the confluence of the Pont 
Neuf Eiver with Snake Eiver, or, as it is 
often called, Lewis's Fork of the Columbia, 
which takes place about nine miles below the 
fort. Before long, in continuing down the 
valley of Snake Eiver, we come to the Ame- 
rican Falls. The river, which just above was 



HOT SPEINGS. 345 

870 yards, or nearly half a mile wide, is 
here narrowed in the form of a lock, by jutting 
piles of scoriaceous basalt, breakingover which 
the foaming waters must present a grand ap- 
pearance after heavy rains. Along the whole 
line of the course of the river, from some 
distance above the falls, to the Dalles of the 
Lower Columbia, its bed resembles a chasm 
which had been made by subterranean vio- 
lence, and which seems to have directed the 
course of the waters flowing in this direc- 
tion. The next natural curiosity on the 
route is the bursting out of a subterranean 
river from the face of an escarpment, and its 
fall, in a white foam, into the larger Snake 
Eiver below. After this comes the Fishing 
Falls, "a series of cataracts, with very in- 
clined planes, which are probably so named 
because they form a barrier to the ascent of 
the salmon; and the great fisheries, from 
which the inhabitants of this barren region 
almost entirely derive a subsistence, begin at 
this place." Fifty to sixty miles farther, in 
a northwesterly direction, or about 230 miles 
from Fort Hall, we come to a group of 
Hot Springs. — The temperature of the wa- 



346 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

ter was 164° F. "The rocks were covered 
with a red and white incrustation, and the wa- 
ter produces on the tongue the same unpleasant 
effect as that of the Basin Spring, on Bear 
Eiver. The springs have several issues, and 
bubble up with force enough to raise the 
small pebbles several inches." 

The following is an analysis of the de- 
posit with which the rocks are incrusted :— 

Silica . . 72.55 

Carbonate of lime . . '. . .14.60 

Carbonate of magnesia . . . .1.20 

Oxide of iron . . . . . . 4.65 

Alumina : .0.70 

Chloride of sodium, &c. *) 

Sulphate of soda >■ . . , . 1.10 

Sulphate of lime, &c. J 

Organic vegetable matter \ ^ 20 

Water and loss i 

100.00 

In the expulsive force with which the water 
is ejected, and in the composition of the sub- 
stances held in solution, we see, at this spot, 
phenomena closely analogous to those mani- 
fested by the Iceland springs. 

The road before reaching the springs was 
extremely rocky, and exhibited hard volca- 



MALHEUR RIVER SPRINGS. 347 

nic fragments ; and the rocks at the foot of 
the ridge near to which they issue have the 
appearance of a reddish-brown trap, frag- 
ments of which were scattered along the 
road from the springs. The ridge here men- 
tioned is probably a spur from the Salmon 
Eiver range, and is about five miles north of 
the Snake Eiver, in lat. 42° 10' K, and long. 
115° 10' W. 

Malheur River Hot Springs. — At a travel- 
led distance of about 120 miles, in a north- 
westerly direction from the Hot Springs, last 
mentioned, we come to these in lat. 44° 17' N., 
and long. 117° W. I have designated them 
after the name of the river {Riviere aux Mai- 
heurs\ on the low bank of the right side of 
which they are situated. They are numerous, 
and have the very high temperature of 193° 
F. " The ground, which was too hot for the 
naked feet, was covered above and below the 
springs with an incrustation of common salt, 
very white, and good and fine grained. Ele- 
vation above the sea, 1,880 feet. 

Soda and Salt Plain. — On approaching the 
Blue Mountains, in his journey west, Fremont 
met with "the bed of a dry salt lake or marsh, 



348 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

very firm and bare, and which was covered 
thickly with a fine white powder, containing 
a large quantity of carbonate of soda (thirty- 
three in a hundred parts)." 

The next hot springs to be mentioned in 
Oregon are west-northwest of the last men- 
tioned group on Malheur Eiver, and separat- 
ed from them by four degrees of longitude. 
These two groups of springs are on opposite 
sides of the Great Basin, Desert some call it, 
which has an elevation above the sea of four 
to five thousand feet, and is surrounded by 
lofty mountains. It is believed, says Col. 
Fremont, to be filled with rivers and lakes 
which have no communication with the sea; 
deserts and oases which have never been ex- 
plored, and savage tribes which no traveller 
has seen or described. 

The distance in a direct line, from the 
Springs of Malheur Eiver, on the east, to 
those of Fall Eiver now to be mentioned on 
the west, is about two hundred miles ; but the 
traveller's route, that taken by Fremont in his 
journey of exploration, was much longer, and, 
of course, more circuitous, viz : north along 
the mountains to the Columbia Eiver, down it 



SPRINGS OF FALL RIVER. 349 

to near the Falls and the Cascade Eange, and 
up the Fall Eiver, skirting this range in a 
southerly course, until, coming on a tributary- 
stream, he found the 

Hot and Warm Springs of Fall River. — 
They are on both sides of the branch of the 
Fall Eiver, in about lat. 44° 40' K, and 
long. 121° 5' W. Those on the left bank, 
which were formed into deep handsome 
basins, would, in a more genial air than 
that which the travellers were then en- 
countering, make delightful baths. Their 
temperature was 89° F. The others on the 
opposite side of the stream, at the foot of an 
escarpment, were 134° F. These waters de- 
posited around the spring a brecciated mass 
of quartz and feldspar, much of it of a red- 
dish color. From near this spot, on an ele- 
vated plain, a view is obtained of six great 
peaks; the first being Mount Jefferson, on 
the Cascade Eange. The whole of this re- 
gion exhibits strongly marked volcanic fea- 
tures. 

Following up, in nearly a due south course, 
the Fall Eiver, and sometimes crossing its 
branches, the travellers reached a savannah 
30 



350 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

or grassy meadow, called Lake Tlamath or 
Klamet, through which flows a river of the 
same name to the ocean. After the melting 
of snow from the neighboring mountains, the 
surface of the lake is partly studded with ponds 
and marshes, which are dried up on the ap- 
proach of warm weather. Thence the road was 
to the head waters of the Sacramento Eiver, 
which empties into the Bay of San Francisco, 
and across the Winter Eidge to the Summer 
Lake. Still continuing their course, in a 
southerly direction, along the eastern base of 
the Sierra Nevada range, Fremont and his 
party, sometimes in the mountains, sometimes 
skirting them, met with a succession of lakes, 
from Abert to Mud Lakes, with Christmas 
one intervening. Between Mud and the 
next and larger lake, called Pyramid, are 
seen, to use the words of Fremont, "the most 
extraordinary locality of hot springs we have 
met during the journey." I shall give his 
description of them under the title of the 

Hot Springs of Pyramid Lake. — " The basin 
of the largest one has a circumference of 
several hundred feet, but there is at one ex- 
tremity a circular spot of about fifteen feet 



HOT SPRINGS OF PYRAMID LAKE. 351 

in diameter, entirely occupied by the boiling 
water. It boils up at irregular intervals and 
with much noise. The water is clear, and 
the spring deep ; a pole about sixteen feet 
long was easily immersed in the centre, but 
it gave no evidence of the depth. It was 
surrounded on the margin with a border of 
green grass, and near the same the tempera- 
ture was 206° F. By agitating the water 
with the pole, the temperature at the margin 
was increased to 208° F., and in the centre 
was doubtless higher. By driving the pole 
towards the bottom, the water was made to 
boil up with increased force and noise. There 
are several other interesting places where 
water and smoke or gas escape. The water 
is impregnated with common salt, but not so 
much as to render it unfit for general cook- 
ing, and a mixture of snow made it pleasant 
to drink.""* 

* There are very few hot springs on the earth's sur- 
face which exhibit as elevated a temperature as these 
boiling springs described by Capt. Fremont. Arago says 
that the hottest in Europe, unconnected with modern 
volcanic action, are those at Chaudes Aigues, in Au- 
vergne, whose temperature is 176° F. ; and the hottest 



352 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

These springs are in Utah near its western 
limits. In the immediate neighborhood, the 
valley bottom is covered almost exclusively 

connected with modern volcanic action are, according to 
Forbes, the Baths of Nero (at Baias, in the Bay of Na- 
ples), which rise to 176° F. 

In Iceland, the surface of the water of the Great Gey- 
ser is 185° ; the bottom at the depth of 72 feet is 260° F. 
The neighboring Stokkr is 212° F., or boiling point, at 
the surface, and 237°.5 at the depth of 15 feet. The 
temperature of the water of the Little Geysers, or inter- 
mitting spouting springs of Reikum, is 212° F. Next to 
these are the hot springs of Reikiavik, the capital of 
Iceland, which are 188° F. At St. Michael's, in the 
Azores, the pool of Caldeira is 208° F. Among the many 
thermal springs and lakes of New Zealand, there are 
some of the former as high as 200 to 210° F. In one of 
the Fidji Islands, at the Waicama, or hot springs, near the 
sea shore, the water is 200 to 210° F. In the island of 
Amsterdam, in the Indian Ocean, a large basin is formed 
by a hot spring, the water of which is at the boiling 
point, or 212° F. Of the same temperature, on the au- 
thority of Thunberg, are the Sulphureous Hot Springs of 
Ussina, in Niphon, one of the islands which constitute 
the empire of Japan. 

But, on the continent of the eastern hemisphere, if we 
except two or three in Hindostan and Thibet, there are 
no hot springs of a temperature closely approaching to 
that of the " Boiling Springs" of Utah. In our own 
hemisphere, there are only two in Mexico (each at 205° 



CALIFORNIA SPRINGS. 353 

with chenopodiaceous shrubs, of greater 
luxuriance and larger growth than had been 
seen in any preceding part of the journey. 

Pyramid Lake is a short distance only from 
the Boiling Springs just noticed. This, after 
descending from the pass, broke upon the 
eyes, a sheet of green water. 

In North or Upper California, to the west of 
the Sierra Nevada, which is a continuation 
of the Cascade Eange, and at the foot of the 
Shasty Peak, is the 

Hot Spring of Shasty Peak. — The water is 
described by Mr. Jas. Dana, in his Contribu- 
tion to the History of the Expedition by 
Captain Wilkes, to be hot enough to boil eggs. 
The region around is volcanic, and the Peak, 

F.), and one in the island of St. Lucia, in the West In- 
dies, at 203° F., which come near to their line of elevated 
temperature. 

From what we know of the increasing heat of the wa- 
ters of the Geysers and Stokkr below the surface of the 
spring, and the actual temperature at the margin of the 
basin of the Boiling Springs, we cannot have any doubt 
that the water in the centre of the latter does really, not 
figuratively, boil up ; and that its temperature at this 
spot is fully 212° F., making it equal to the hottest 
known springs in any other part of the world. 

30* 



354 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

rising to the height of 12,000 to 14,000 feet, 
with its bare cone and two summits, may be 
regarded as an extinct volcano. The spring 
is described as boiling up among the rocks to 
the height of two or three feet, and as it runs 
off in a small stream, it has worn the rocks 
smooth, and formed a small basin below 
which is much frequented by the mountain 
sheep. 

Acidulo- Chalybeate Spring. — This is also 
near Shasty Peak. The water oozes out from 
among the rocks into a basin which scarcely 
holds a gallon, and then flows down into a 
marshy spot, thickly covered with an iron 
crust. It is brisk and pungent, owing to the 
excess of carbonic acid in its composition. It 
has, therefore, been called Soda Water by the 
trappers. The taste is very agreeable — acid- 
ulous and chalybeate — and as far as we can 
judge from this test, it contains neither alka- 
line nor saline ingredients. The temperature 
is that of the mountain torrent near by. 

Fifty yards beyond the spring, there is a 
shallow ditch, a hundred yards in length, 
containing about half a foot of water, simi- 
larly chalybeate but less brisk with carbonic 



VOLCANIC SPRINGS. 355 

acid. Our horses, adds the narrator, drank 
freely of it, and with good relish. 

Volcanic Springs. — Under this title, Dr. J. 
L. Le Conte describes* a number of springs 
of a remarkable character, some of them re- 
sembling the mud volcanoes of Tarn an, in 
the Crimea, others the Geysers, or eruptive 
springs of Iceland. These springs, which 
were visited by Dr. Le Conte, are in the 
Desert of the Colorado, in Southern Cali- 
fornia, in a muddy plain bordering a salt 
lake. North of the lake, distant six or 
eight miles, is a chain of rocky hills 800 to 
1,000 feet high, portions of which have a 
volcanic appearance. " Eising from the plain 
where we now stand are several volcanic 
mounds, about 100 to 150 feet high. Hasten- 
ing to one of these, I found it composed of 
lava and pumice." After telling of the ef- 
forts made by the Indians of his escort to dis- 
suade him from his intended exploration, he 
writes : — 

" Advancing towards the place whence the 
steam issued, we found on the muddy plains 

* Silliman's Journal, Jan. 1855. No. 55, 2d Series, 



356 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

numerous circular lakes, containing boiling 
mud, and exhaling a naphtha-like odor. 
Many of them are incrusted with inspissated 
mud, forming cones S to 4 feet high, from 
the apex of which proceed mingled vapors 
of water, sal ammoniac, and sulphur. Four 
of them eject steam and clear saline water, 
with great violence, resembling in appear- 
ance the jet from the pipe of a high-pressure 
engine. The falling spray around these has 
formed a group of acicular stalagmites, com- 
posed of aragonite, with a small quantity of 
silica, and some saline matter. Many of these 
stalagmites are tubular in form. Another 
spring was a large basin filled intermittingly 
to overflowing, with foam and clear saline 
water: around the edge were butyroidal 
masses of aragonite, like that forming needles 
around the cones. Near the cones, in little 
fissures, were crusts of what seemed to be 
sal ammoniac, some of which were colored 
red, possibly by sulphuret of selenium." 

On returning to Vallecitas, whence the party 
had set out for the springs, they found on 
the most northern of the volcanic mounds 
before mentioned, a quantity of scoriae and 



HOT SULPHUR SPRINGS. 357 

obsidian, and distinctly marked the course 
of a lava stream down the side. The mounds 
all showed traces of aqueous action, in the 
terrace-like manner in which the pumice was 
arranged. Near Vallecitas they passed some 
mounds covered with cinders and pumice, and 
on the top of one of them found a crater-like 
hollow, in which grew some very large canes. 
Earthquake. Spouting Springs. — Dr. Le 
Conte was told by Lieut. Davidson, that while 
he was stationed at Fort Yuma, in Dec. 1853, 
a violent earthquake occurred. The ground 
in the vicinity of the fort opened, forming 
fissures from which were thrown mud, sand 
and water. Portions of the mountains seve- 
ral miles around were seen to fall, and about 
forty miles southeast of the fort, in the di- 
rection of some springs, said to be similar to 
those just now described, was seen an im- 
mense column of steam. 

Hot Sulphur Springs. — Ascending the 
mountains which skirt a valley to the west 
of a desert extending from the Colorado about 
ninety miles, in Southern California, the tra- 
veller comes to a hot sulphureous spring with 
a temperature of 137° F., near Warner's 



358 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

Kancheria. It issues in large volume from 
the fissure of a granite rock. 

New Mexico contains many mineral and 
thermal springs. Several sulphureous springs, 
some of which are thermal, if we may infer 
so from the name of the place, are met with 
at Ojo Caliente, to the west of the river Del 
Norte, 40 miles above Santa F£. 



SPRINGS OF CANADA. 359 



CHAPTEE XIX. 

Mineral Springs of Canada — Tuscarora Acid Spring- 
On arlotteville Sulphur Spring — Ancaster Spring — 
Caledonia Springs — Their varieties — Gas, Saline, Sul- 
phur, and Intermitting Springs — Mineral Artesian 
Well, St. Catharine's — Varennes, &c. 

MINERAL SPRINGS OF CANADA. 

In the communications of Mr. T. S. Hunt, 
who was engaged in the geological survey of 
Canada, we have interesting notices of some 
of the chief mineral springs of that country.* 

The Tuscarora Acid Spring.— The same 
region in which occur the acid springs of 
New York offers in Canada a remarkable 
one of a similar kind. Mr. Hunt describes 
it with the above title. It is situated in the 
township of Tuscarora, in the Indian Ee- 
serve, about twenty miles north of Pass 
Dover, which is the nearest point on Lake 
Erie. The water contains a large amount 

* Silliman's Journ. New Series, Vols. yiii. & ix. 



360 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

of free sulphuric acid, about 4 parts in 1000, 
besides sulphates of the alkalies, lime, mag- 
nesia, alumina, and iron in small quantities. 

The proportion of these ingredients is, 
however, inconstant, as is evident from an 
analysis made in April, 1846, by Professor 
Croft, of King's College, Toronto, which is 
confirmed by a partial examination by Mr. 
Hunt of a specimen of water brought from 
the spring in 1845. 

The specific gravity of the water was much 
lower, and the amount of foreign ingredients 
much less, than in that subsequently collect- 
ed by himself; but the proportion of bases 
to the acids was much greater. 

The principal spring is at the east side of 
the old stump and gnarled roots of a pine- 
tree, and has a round basin about eight 
feet in diameter, and four to five feet deep : 
the bottom is soft mud. There is no visi- 
ble outlet to the basin, which, at the time of 
Mr. Hunt's visit, was filled to within a foot 
of the brim ; fuller, indeed, than it had been 
a few days previously, although no rain had 
fallen in the interval. At the centre of the 



TUSCARORA ACID SPRINGS. 361 

basin a constant ebullition is going on from 
the evolution of small bubbles of gas, which 
is found, on examination, to be carburetted 
hydrogen. The water is slightly turbid and 
brownish colored, apparently from the sur- 
rounding decayed wood, which, indeed, forms 
the sides of the basin. It is strongly acid 
and styptic to the taste, and decidedly sul- 
phureous, and the odor of sulphuretted hy- 
drogen is perceived for some distance round 
the place. 

Within a few feet of this was another 
smaller basin, two feet in diameter, which 
had about one foot of water in it. It was 
evolving gas more copiously than the former, 
and was somewhat more sulphureous to the 
taste, although not more acid. In other parts 
of the inclosure were three or four small 
cavities partly filled with a water more or 
less acid, and evolving a small quantity of 
gas. The temperature of the larger spring 
was 56° F., that of the smaller one 56° near 
the surface, but, on burying the thermometer 
in the soft mud at the bottom, it rose to 60° 
F., October, 1847. 
31 



362 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

Specific gravity of the water 1.005583. 
1000 parts of the water yielded — 

Sulphuric acid (SO) 4.6350 

Potash . . / 0329 

Soda 0219 

Lime 3192 

Magnesia 0524 

Peroxide of iron 1915 

Phosphoric acid traces 

Eepresenting the bases as combined with 
their equivalent of sulphuric acid, we have 
for the composition of 1000 parts of the 
water — 

Sulphate of potash 06080 

Sulphate of soda .05020 

Sulphate of lime . . . . . .77520 

Sulphate of magnesia 15395 

Sulphate of iron (proto) . . . .36385 

Sulphate of alumina 46811 

Phosphoric acid . . traces 

Sulphuric acid (SHO) .... 4.28952 

Water 993.83387 

The quantity of sulphuretted hydrogen is 
small, being about one-half of a cubic inch in 
200 cubic inches of the water. 

Charlotteville Sulphur Spring. — This 
spring is situated a few miles from Port 
Dover, on Lake Erie. It issues near the bank 



CHARLOTTEYILLE SPRING. 



363 



of a small stream "which turns a mill. Tem- 
perature (19th Oct.) 45°, while that of the 
creek was 49°, of the air 26° F. The surface 
is coated with a film of sulphur. The spe- 
cific gravity of the water is 1.002712 ; it is 
limpid, sparkling, in odor strongly sulphure- 
ous, and in taste pungent, with something 
like sweetness, leaving an impression of 
warmth in the month for some time. A quali- 
tative examination showed, besides, the pre- 
sence of chlorides and sulphates, the latter in 
large quantities ; the bases were potash, soda, 
lime, magnesia, with traces of alumina and 
iron. 

1000 parts of the water gave — 



Sulphate of potash 






.05103 


Sulphate of soda . 






.47182 


Sulphate of lime . 






1.12670 


Sulphate of magnesia . 






.43510 


Chloride of magnesium . 






.08783 


Carbonate of lime 






.30500 


Carbonate of magnesia . 






.01798 


Carbonate of iron 






traces 


Sulphuretted hydrogen 






.17763 


Carbonic acid 






.15350 


Water .... 






997.17341 




1000.00000 



364 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

The peculiarity of this water is, Mr. Hunt 
thinks, the unexampled quantity of sulphu- 
retted hydrogen it contains. " The strongest 
of the celebrated Harrogate Springs (Eng- 
land) yields but 14* cubic inches of this gas 
to the gallon, while the Charlotte ville con- 
tains in the same measure 26.8 cubic inches." 
Amount of solid matter2.49446 parts in 1000. 

Ancaster Spring. — This spring, which is 
known to the inhabitants as a salt well, is 
about two miles west of the village of An- 
caster, on the land of Mr. Eobert Herlop. 
Temperature same as that of a neighboring 
fresh spring of 48° F. The water is ex- 
tremely bitter and saline to the taste. 1000 
parts of the water contained, according to 
Mr. T. S. Hunt, Chemist and Mineralogist to 
the Geolgical Commission of Canada — 

* Hunter {The Mineral Waters of Harrogate) states the 
quantity of this gas in a gallon of the water of the "Old 
Well" to be 156 cubic inches; and of "Thackwray's 
Pump," 21. 



ANCASTER SPRING. 365 



Chloride of sodium 


. 17.82800 


Chloride of potassium . 


.09200 


Chloride of magnesium 


. 5.07370 


Chloride of calcium 


. 12.80270 


^Bromide of magnesium 


.10309 


Sulphate of lime . 


.77690 


Water 


. 963.32361 



1000.00000 
Amount of saline matters 36.67639 parts in 1000. 

This water is extraordinary, Mr. H. tells 
us, on account of the immense proportions 
of chloride of magnesium and calcium which 
it contains, the sum of these exceeding the 
amount of common salt. With almost the 
same amount of solid matter, it contains less 
than two-thirds of the quantity of this salt 
that is found in sea water ; in this respect, it 
is quite unlike any water hitherto described. f 

* Mr. Hunt (Sill. Journ., vol. ix. p. 267, 1850) re- 
marks on the subject of Analysis of Mineral Waters: "In the 
present state of our knowledge, we must, I think, be led 
to adopt the idea of a partition of bases among the differ- 
ent radicals, so that the bromide of a saline water, in- 
stead of being, as is here represented in conformity with 
general custom, combined as a bromide of magnesium, is 
divided between the four metals usually present, in pro- 
portions which we have not the means of determining." 

f The writer, when he expressed this opinion, was not 

31* 



366 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

The Caledonia Springs. — These springs, 
which are well known as a place of resort 
during the warm season, are situated a few 
miles south of the Ottawa Kiver, about 40 
miles from Montreal. The fountains, which 
are four in number, rise through strata of 
post-pliocene clay, which overlie a rock equi- 
valent to the Trenton limestone. Three of 
them, known as the Gas Spring, the Saline 
Spring, and the White Sulphur Spring, are 
situated within a distance of four or five rods, 
and the mouths of the latter two are not 
more than four feet apart. The fourth, known 
as the Intermitting Spring, is situated about 
two miles distant, and is much more saline 
than the others. The first three are alkaline, 
the sulphur spring strongly so, while the 
fourth contains in solution a great quantity of 
earthy chlorides. 

I. The Gas Spring. — The temperature of 
the air being 61°.7 F., that of the spring was 
44°.4. The discharge was four gallons per 

aware of the more than " extraordinary" character of the 
water of the Artesian Well, at St. Catharine's, in which, 
we are told, the proportion of the two salts specified by 
Mr. H. is thirty-five times more than that which he re- 
garded as "immense" in the Ancaster water. 



THE SALINE SPEING. 



367 



minute, a quantity little subject to variation. 
The gas discharged was carburetted hydro- 
gen, evolved at the rate of 300 cubic inches 
a minute. Specific gravity 1006.2. Taste 
pleasantly saline, but not at all bitter. By 
exposure to the air, it gradually deposits a 
white sediment of earthy carbonates. Its 
reaction is distinctly alkaline to test papers. 
Compounds, omitting bases and radicals — 



Chloride of sodium . 


0.967500 


Chloride of potassium . 


.030940 


Bromide of sodium . 


.015077 


Iodide of sodium 


.000530 


Sulphate of potash 


.005280 


Carbonate of soda 


.048570 


Carbonate of lime 


.148000 


Carbonate of magnesia 


.526200 


Carbonate of iron and manganese 


traces 


Alumina ..... 


.004400 


Silica 


.031000 


Carbonic acid .... 


.349000 


Water 


. 991.873503 



1000.000000 
Saline ingredients in 1000 parts 7.7775. Carbonic 
acid in 100 cubic inches 17.5. 

II. The Saline Spring. — The spring thus 
named is very similar to the last, but is really 
less strongly saline. Its temperature was 



368 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

45° F., that of the air being at the same time 
60° F. The specific gravity 1.005824. Its 
reaction is more strongly alkaline, but other- 
wise the results of the qualitative examina- 
tion are similar to those given under the 
head of the " Gas Spring." It contains no 
sulphuretted hydrogen whatever ; some few 
bubbles of carburetted hydrogen are evolved, 
but the quantity is very small. The dis- 
charge from this spring is about ten gallons 
per minute. Amount of solid matter 7.347 
parts in 1000. The quantity of free carbonic 
acid is 14.7 cubic inches in 100 cubic inches 
of water. 

III. The Sulphur Spring. — This spring is 
situated very near to the last, the opening of 
the two wells being not more than four feet 
apart. It has a feebly sulphureous taste and 
odor, and may be said to have traces of sul- 
phur rather than any quantitative return. 
Temperature 46° F., that of the air being 
60° F. Specific gravity 1003.7. Amount 
of solid matters 4.9406 parts in 1000 parts 
of water. This is the most strongly alkaline 
of the group, the soda being 2.12370 in 1000, 
and the carbonate of soda 0.45580, of lime 



INTERMITTING SPRING. 369 

0.21000, of magnesia 0.29400. There are 
traces of iodine and of iron. The large amount 
of silica (.08400) which it contains is an inte- 
resting peculiarity, and naturally connects 
itself with the strongly alkaline character of 
the water. As silica is capable of decompos- 
ing a solution of carbonate of soda, it is pro- 
bable that a portion of the soda must really 
exist in the condition of a silicate. 

IV. The Intermitting Spring is situated 
about two miles distant from the others. It 
rises out of a bank of clay near the edge of 
a brook. A well has been sunk nearly thirty 
feet through the clay, and the water rises to 
near the surface. It is kept in almost con- 
stant agitation by the evolution of large 
quantities of carburetted hydrogen gas ; the 
water, from this cause, is kept constantly 
turbid by the quantity of clay diffused 
through it, and it is only after being allowed 
to stand for several hours in a quiet place 
that it becomes transparent. The discharge 
of gas is not regular, some minutes often 
elapsing, during which only a few bubbles 
escape from time to time, after which a co- 
pious evolution occurs for a few moments, 



370 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

followed by another period of quiescence. 
From this peculiarity it is called the inter- 
mitting spring. Temperature 50° at the 
bottom of the well, that of the air being 61°. 
Solid matter in 1000 parts 14.639 parts. 

Composition of the water. A qualitative 
examination showed the presence of chlorine, 
bromine, and iodine, with potassium, sodium, 
calcium, and magnesium ; a large portion of 
the latter two exists in the condition of chlo- 
rides. No sulphuric acid was detected, but 
there were traces of iron and alumina. 

Mineral Artesian Wells at St. Catha- 
rine's, Canada West. — The only knowledge 
which I have of this water is through the 
never very satisfactory medium, in such 
cases, of a circular for the multitude, in which 
the marvellous, the doubtful, and the true are 
commingled. Assuming the printed state- 
ments of the results of an analysis by Dr. Jas. 
E. Chilton to be correct, the saline ingredients 
of this water are in singularly large propor- 
tion, and this too of certain salts which are far 
from being common, still less abundant, in 
mineral springs. A pint of the water is re- 
presented to hold in solution 5064.15 grains 



ST. CATHARINE'S WELL. 



371 



of saline substances, which are equal to nearly 
five-sevenths of the watery menstruum in 
which they are dissolved. In other words, 
sixteen ounces of water hold in solution 
rather more than ten ounces and a half of 
saline matters. They are in the following 
proportions, in one pint of the water; its 
specific gravity at 60° R being 1.0347 : — 



Chloride of calcium 


. 2950.40 


Chloride of magnesium . 


. 1289.76 


Chloride of sodium 


. 781.36 


Proto-chloride of iron 


13.76 


Sulphate of lime .... 


16.32 


Carbonates of lime and magnesia 


2.08 


Bromide of magnesium \ . 
Iodide of magnesium J 




Silica and alumina 


.47 



Grains 



5064.15 



According to this analysis, the proportion 
of chloride of calcium (muriate of lime) in 
the water is a little more even than that 
which is found in the solution of this salt 
directed by the Pharmacopoeia of the United 
States, viz : one part of the chloride in two 
and a half parts of the solution. On read- 
ing a little further, after the table of con- 
stituents of this water, we come to a u Card 



372 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

to the Public," in which we learn that the 
product of the artesian well is subjected to 
a certain process of depuration and evapora- 
tion, and that "that part which is composed 
of common salt first settles and is removed ; 
the remainder is dipped into vats until the 
earthy matter subsides, and then bottled off 
without any drug or admixture whatever 
being added thereto." This much we learn 
from the card signed by three reverend gen- 
tlemen; one, a rector, and two, pastors of 
churches, in St. Catharine's. The more ob- 
vious common sense course, in this matter, 
would have been to procure the attestation 
of a respectable apothecary or pharmaceutist 
on the spot, who could have told in intelligi- 
ble language the changes to which the water 
had been subjected. The thing was a ques- 
tion of chemistry, not of theology. Now, 
since the time of Bishop Watson, we are not 
aware that the reverend expounders of the 
Gospel have been famous for their love of or 
advances in chemical science, nor, with few 
exceptions, have they evinced any fondness 
for the sciences in general. In any thing 
connected with the science of medicine, or 



CLERICAL CREDULITY. 373 

the art of healing, their opinions are the least 
to be relied on of any class of men in the 
community. Only tell them that the object 
is a good one, that the article or compound, 
though most probably an old remedy with a 
new Greco-Gothic or mongrel Indian name, 
will certainly cure, and there is no quackery 
too gross, no imposition too transparent, but 
what will find among the members of their 
profession supporters, and every now and 
then volunteer missionaries to disseminate a 
knowledge of its wonderful effects, and to in- 
crease the number of the credulous. The 
sceptic in religion, who is too indolent or too 
prejudiced to inquire for himself into the 
grounds of faith, may plausibly enough doubt 
the soundness of the religious creed of those 
who, while they undertake to expound and 
enforce what is good for the cure of souls, 
are so negligent of the laws of evidence and 
the principles of logic in what relates to the 
cure of the body. 

In thus commenting on the certificate of 
the reverend gentlemen of St. Catharine's, I 
do not mean for a moment to impeach their 
purity of intention, nor to deny the proprie- 



374 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

tor of the Well the benefit of his explanation. 
One thing seems to be certain, that the water 
bottled and sent away is a water prepared 
from that of St. Catharine's Well, but not the 
water, the direct flow from the vein or veins 
opened by boring. It may be asked, why 
this evaporation, and what security is there 
against a precipitation of other salts, and espe- 
cially of that of iron, besides the chloride of 
sodium ? Then, again, how is it, if this last 
mentioned salt had been precipitated by eva- 
poration, and " removed," that it figures so 
largely in the water analyzed by Dr. Chilton ? 
There must be wonderful differences in the 
strength of the saline impregnation of differ- 
ent specimens of this water. A bottle con- 
taining twelve ounces was left at the shop of 
Professor Proctor, of the Philadelphia College 
of Pharmacy, with the assurance by the per- 
son who brought it that it was from St. Ca- 
tharine's Well, in its original state. 

Mr. Proctor's intelligent assistant, J. E. 
Young, was kind enough to make some ex- 
amination of this specimen of the water with 
the following results : Specific gravity, 1.390. 
Saline contents in one ounce, 164 grains, and 



MISLEADING DESCRIPTION. 375 

in one pint 2,624 grains. This last, large as 
is the proportion, is only a little more than 
one-half of the quantity of the salts contain- 
ed in a pint of the water sent to Dr. Chilton 
for analysis ! 

If we might offer any advice to the pro- 
prietor of the Artesian Mineral Well at St. 
Catharine's, it would be : 1. To content himself 
with the natural water, which is quite active 
enough for all the purposes to which such a 
combination is deemed applicable. 2. To get 
some physician on the spot to speak intelli- 
gibly of the properties and medicinal effects 
of the water ; and 3. To procure the services 
of a less ignorant writer than the author of 
his present circular. Then shall we not be 
told of chloride de calcium, nor the untruths 
that iodine and bromine, of which a trace 
only was detected by analysis, are "some of 
the principal constituents." Nor should we read 
the nonsense of sodium, a metalloid, "being 
another body which enters largely into the 
composition of the water," and of its being 
"one of the most valuable salts yet disco- 
vered ;" nor the irrelevant matter about sul- 
phuric acid, and its curative powers, as if it 



376 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

were free in the water, and not combined and 
neutralized by a base of lime, so as to form a 
sulphate, a salt, which, if not inert, is certainly 
not friendly to the human organism. The 
clerical brethren of St. Catharine's ought to 
have read all this trash before they allowed 
their names to figure, as vouchers, on the 
same sheet in which it appears. 

Unable to look to any reliable source for 
information respecting the dose and the the- 
rapeutic value of the water of St. Catharine's, 
I must defer to a future occasion, any re- 
marks on this subject. 

Yarennes Springs* — They are on the 
southern border of the St. Lawrence, seven- 
teen miles below Montreal. A century ago 
they were much resorted to, but of late years 
have fallen into unmerited neglect. There 
are two springs; the Gas or Inner Spring, in- 
closed in a house, and the Saline or Outer 
Spring, distant from the other about a hun- 
dred yards. The amount of saline materials 
in the first is 9.586 in 1,000 parts of the 
water ; and in the second, is 10.721. Both 

* T. S. Hunt.— Silliman's Journal, vol. xi. 1851. 



ST. LEON AND CAXTON SPRINGS. 377 

contain chloride, iodide and bromide of so- 
dium, and carbonates of soda, baryta, stron- 
tia, lime, magnesia, and iron. The Gas 
Spring receives its name from the large 
quantity of carburetted hydrogen evolved. 
The temperature of the water of the two 
springs 45°.5 and 47°.5 F. 

St. Leon Spring. — It is saline and chaly- 
beate, and contains the same ingredients as 
those of Yarennes, with the addition of a 
larger proportion of iron. The water is kept 
in constant ebullition by the escape of large 
quantities of carburetted hydrogen gas. 

Caxton Spring. — This spring is situated 
in the township of Caxton, on the Yarna- 
chiche Eiver, about five leagues from the 
village of the same name. It also evolves 
largely carburetted hydrogen. In this re- 
spect, as well as in its composition, resem- 
bling the spring of St. Leon. 

The Plantagenet Spring. — This is in a 
township from which it derives its name, not 
far from the southern bank of the Ottawa. 
The water of this spring bears a close resem- 
blance to the last two waters. 

It has not been my good fortune to meet 
32* 



378 MINERAL AND THERMAL SPRINGS. 

with any notice of the medicinal uses to 
which the Canada Springs have been ap- 
plied ; although it is probable that informa- 
tion on this subject has been put on record 
by more than one of the intelligent and 
experienced professional gentlemen of that 
country. 



APPENDIX. 



THERMAL SPRINGS OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Fahrenheit. 

Bennington, Vermont 

Lebanon, New York* . . .73° 

Perry County, Pennsylvania . . 72° ? 

Bath, Berkley County, Virginia . 73° 

Warm Springs, Bath County, do. . 98° 
Hot Springs, do. do. 98°to 106° 

Healing Springs, do. do. . 84° 

Sweet Springs, Monroe County, do. . 74° 

* Professor .Mather says, that some of the gas springs 
in New York, and probably all of them, are thermal, as 
are some of the acidulous — those of Ballston and Sara- 
toga, for example ; and Mr. Hall tells us that all the sul- 
phureous springs in the Fourth District of that State, 
have a temperature above that of the common springs. 
Professor Wm. B. Rogers expresses his conviction that a 
great proportion of the copious and constant springs of 
the vast belt of mountains occupied by the Appalachian 
range, especially those of the great limestone valley of 
Virginia, "are truly though slightly thermal." He notices 
fifty-six springs which are decidedly thermal, including, 
in the list, the White Sulphur Springs of Oreenbrier 
County., 



380 APPENDIX. 



o 



Eed Sweet Springs, do. 78 

Holstein Spring, Scott County, do. . 68° 
Buncombe County, North Carolina 94 to 104° 
French Broad Eiver, Tennessee . . 95° 
Meriwether County, Georgia . . 90° 
Washitaw, Warm Spring County, Ar- 
kansas . . . 140° to 156° 
Florida, Sulphur Springs of . . 70° 
Spring near Fort Laramie, Nebraska . 74° 
Great Salt Lake City, Warm Spring at. 

11 " Hot Spring near the 123° 

" " Warm Fountains. 

" " Hot Chalybeate Red 

Springs, 30 miles from the 132° to 136° 
Great Salt Lake, Thermal Saline, north 

of . . 74° to 84° 

" " Spring Yalley, Thermal 

Saline, south of . . . 70° to 74° 
Bear River Hot and Warm Springs, 74 
miles N. W. from Great Salt Lake 

City 134° 

Lake Utah, Warm Springs of . 
Hot Springs, Oregon .... 164° 
Malheur River Hot Springs, do. . . 193° 
Hot and Warm Springs of Fall River, 

Oregon ... 89° to 134° 
Hot Springs, Pyramid Lake,Utah 206 to 208° 



APPENDIX. 381 

Hot Spring of Shasty Peak, California. 
Hot Sulphur Springs, do. . 137° 

Volcanic Springs emitting water and steam. 

II. 

MINERAL ARTESIAN WELL OP PETTY ? S ISLAND. 

I omitted to speak, in its proper place, 
of the chalybeate water of Petty's Is- 
land, which is situated in the Delaware 
Eiver, opposite Eichmond, the upper or 
northern part of Philadelphia. This spring 
issues from an Artesian well, bored in the 
summer of 1852, with a view of procuring 
cool, drinkable water, for the use of the peo- 
ple employed at the ship-yard on the island. 

An analysis made by John Hewson, Jr., 
assistant of Professor Booth, gave the follow- 
ing results, in a gallon of the water : — 

Grains. 

Bicarbonate of iron 16.305 

" lime 4.360 

" magnesia .... 1.839 

" soda 1.611 

Silica 3.720 

Organic matter 3.100 

Free carbonic acid 8.224 

39.159 



382 APPENDIX. 

Mr. Booth thinks that, considering the loss 
of carbonic acid by exposure and evapora- 
tion, its excess above all the bases computed 
as bicarbonates, would be 17.37 cubic inches. 

The water of Petty's Island is regarded by 
Mr. B. as a true earthy chalybeate, contain- 
ing an amount of iron (one and a half grains 
of carbonate in the pint) which is exceeded 
by only two or three in Europe. 

"This water," continues Mr. Booth, "is 
farther characterized by the large amount of 
silica which it contains, being nearly half 
a grain to the pint ; and by the absence of 
sulphates and chlorides; being in this last re- 
spect different from all other chalybeates, the 
analysis of which I have found."* 

The water has a diuretic effect as far as can 
be inferred from a few trials. Of its efficacy 
in a large circle of diseases in which chaly- 
beates are called for there can hardly be a 
doubt. 

* American Journal Med. Sciences. Jan. 1853. 



INDEX. 



Acid Springs (see Alum Springs), 13, 131, 136, 177, 359 
Albany Artesian Mineral Wells, 88 
Alburgh Springs, 144 
Alum Springs, Bath Co., 189 
Church Hill, 238 
Rockbridge, 190 
Anabaina, 228 
Ancaster, 364 
Arkansas, Springs of, 302 
Hot Springs of, 305 

vapor bath from, 306 
Artesian Mineral Wells, 69, 88, 125, 296, 370. 381 
Auburn, 124 
Avon Springs, 98-104 

waters, virtues of, 104 
doses of, 114 
external use of, 117 
situation of, 98, 99 

B. 

Baden-Baden, Hot Springs of, 314 
Bailey's, 295 
Ballston, 63, 68, 75 



384 INDEX. 

Baregine, 228 

Bath, a, the temperature and duration of, 37 

desired effects from, 38 

hot, caution in using, 41, 208 

diseases in which it is useful, 209 

warm, 198, 199 

diseases in which used, 200 
Bath Co., Alum Springs of, 189 
Bath, Berkley Co., Va., Thermal Springs of. 183 
Bath Co., Ya., Warm Springs of, 197, 236 
Bath, Pennsylvania, 178 
Bath waters, England, 209 
Bathing, transition, 307 

with the use of mineral waters, 36 
Baths, division of, 39 
Beane's station, 278 * 
Bear River, Beer Springs at, 322 

hot and warm, 339 
Bedford Springs, 152 

waters, 154 

analyses of, 158, 169 
remedial virtues of the, 153, 160 
Beer Springs, 322 

near to an extinct volcano, 330 
Benedict, Dr., his Sanatarium at Magnolia, 319 
Bennington, 144 
Berkshire, 146 
Bladon, 292, 3 
Blossburg, 177 
Blue Licks, 258 

lower, 259 
Boiling Springs at Pike's Peak, 331 



INDEX. 385 

Brandy wine, 182 

Brine or Salt Springs, N. Y., 139 

Buncombe Co., 282 

C. 

Caledonia, Pa., 179 

Canada, 366 
Canada, Mineral Springs of, 359 
Capon, 186 
Carbonated, or Boiling Springs of Pike's Peak, 331 

or Beer Springs, 322 
Carlisle, 174 

Carlsbad, Hot Springs of, 314 
Catskill Spring, 129 
Caxton, 377 
Chappequa, 128 
Charlotteville, 362 
Chautauque Co. Springs, 130 
Chick's Spring, 286 
Chittenango Springs, 121 
Church Hill Alum Spring, 238 
Clarendon, 144 
Clifton Springs, 120 
Clothing, attention to, 24-26 
Coffee not proper for invalids, 27 
Columbia Co. Springs, N. Y., 129 
Cooper's Well, 296 
Crisis, or bath storm, 109 



D. 



Deer Creek, or Seneca, 127 
Dexter Springs, 143 

33 



388 INDEX 

Dibrell's Spring, 236 

Diet, rules for, 26 

Doubling Gap Springs, 175 

Douches or Spout Bathing, hot, 210 

Dryden Springs, 129 

Duchess Co. Springs, N. Y., 129 

Dun's Spring, 278 

E. 

Earthquake — Spouting Springs, 357 
Ephrata Springs, 179 
Estill Springs, 271 
Exercise, daily, 29 

F. 

Fall River, hot and warm springs of. 349 
Fauquier, 187 
Fayette Spring, 176 
Frankfort Mineral Springs, 171 
Fredonia, Gas Springs at, 141 
French Lick, 278 

G. 

Gas Springs, 61 
Genoi, acid springs near f 138 
Georgia, springs of, 287 
Glairine, 227 
Glenn's Falls, 87 
Springs, 285 
Gordon's, 290 
Great Salt Lake City, 335 
Greenville, 286 



INDEX. 387 

H. 



Halleck's, 91 

Harrodsburg, 241 

Harrogate Water, England, 364 

Harrowgate, N. Y., 128 

Healing, 236 

Highgate, 143 

Holstein, 238 

Hot Springs, Arkansas, 302 

in Mexico, 352 

St. Lucia, 353 

North Carolina, 282 

Baths of Nero, 352 

of Chaudes Aigues, 351 

Island of Amsterdam, 352 

Little Geysers at Reikum, 352 

New Zealand, 352 

Oregon, 347, 349 

Pyramid Lake, 356 

compared with others, 351-2 

Reikiavik, 352 

Shasty Peak, 353 

St. Michael's, 352 

Stokkr, 352 

the Great Geysers, 352 

Ussina in Japan, 352 

Utah, 336, 337, 339, 350 

Virginia, 208 
Hudson, springs in the valley of, 128 
Huguenot, 239 



Illinois, Upper, 275 
Indian Springs, 287 



388 INDEX. 

J. 

Jordan River, Utah, 335 
Jordan's Springs, 185 

L. 

Lake George, 87 

Laramie Fort, Thermal Spring near, 321 

Lebanon Spring, 138 

Thermal and Gaseous, 139 
Lee's, 278 

Leuk or Loeche, social bathing at, 205 
Lubec, in Maine, 142 

M. 

Madison, 288 
Magnolia, 319 

Sanatorium at, 319 
Malvern (England), 181 
Manlius Springs, 122 
Messina " 123 
Mineral Waters — 

Acidulous, 13 

Artesian Well of St. Catharine's, 370 

Bathing in connection with, 36 

Chalybeate, 15 

Different, to be used in succession, 58 

Diseases in which used, 45 

Division of, 13 

First effects of, 42 

Invalids resorting to, 50 

Positive effects of, 21 

Remedial value of, 17 

Rules for drinking, 31 



INDEX. S89 

Mineral Waters — continued. 

Saline, 14 

Sulphureous, 14 
Murray County, Ga., 290 

N. 
Nanticoke, 129 
Natron Lakes, 322 
Newburg, 144 
Newburgh, 129 
Niagara County Springs, 127 
Nitrogen Springs, 141 

0. 

Oak Orchard Springs, 133 
Ocean Springs, 300 
Olympian, 251 

P. 

Paramo de Ruiz, Acid Spring, 137 

Passambio, 136 

Perry County Springs, 174 

Petty's Island, 381 

Pittsburg Chalybeate Spring, 170 

Plantagenet, 377 

Ponds of Sal JEratus, 321 

Pulse, reduction of, by the Red Sulphur waters, 225 

Pyramid Lake, 353 

Hot Springs of, 350 
Pyrenees, Springs of the, 213 

R. 

Rawley's, 237 

Red Springs, Hot Chalybeate, 337 

S3* 



390 INDEX. 

Reed's Mineral Spring, 91 
Rio Vinaigro, 136 
Robertson's, 277 
Rochester, Kentucky, 251 

New York, 125 
Rockbridge Alum Springs, 190 
Rowland's, 290 
Rutledge, 278 

S. 
Sal JEratus, ponds of, 321 
Salt and Sulphur Springs, 340 
Salt Lake, Great, 334 

Mineral and Thermal Springs near the, 334 

Water of the, 342 
Sam's Creek, 278 

Sanatarium, at Magnolia, East Florida, 319 
Saquoit Springs, 127 
Saratoga, 63 

how reached, 88 

Springs, 63, 68 

Waters, 78 
Schooley's Mountain, 149 

Situation of the Springs, 151 
Seneca or Deer Lick, 127 
Shannondale, 184 
Sharon, 94 

How reached, 95 

Waters of, 97 

Virtues of, 118 
Shasty Peak, 354 

Acidulo-chalybeate at, 354 

Hot spring at, 353 



INDEX. 891 



Sleep, measure of, 29 

how driven away, 28 
Soda, carbonate of, ponds of, 322 

used in bread, 322 
Soda or Beer Springs, 322 
Spartanburg, 286 

Spouting Springs — Earthquake, 357 
Spring Mills, 124 
Springs, Mineral — 

Alabama, 291 

Arkansas, 302 

California, 335 

Canada, 359 

Carburetted hydrogen, 141 

Delaware, 182 

Division of, 13 

Florida, 318 

Georgia, 287 

Hot. — See Hot Springs. 

Illinois, 275 

Invalids resorting to, 48 
See Mineral Waters. 

Kansas, 331 

Kentucky, 241 

Massachusetts, 146 

Mississippi, 296 

Nebraska, 321 

New Jersey, 149 

New Mexico, 357 

Nitrogen, 141 

North Carolina, 282 

Maine, 142 



392 INDEX. 

Springs, Mineral — continued. 

of New York, 60 

Ohio, 273 

Oregon, 322 

Pennsylvania, 152 

Red Sweet, 235 

South Carolina, 285 

Sweet, 233 

Tennessee, 276 

Thermal, and Volcanism, 192 

Vermont, 143 

Virginia, 183 

Warm. — See "Warm Springs. 

Utah, 334 
Spring Valley, 341 

Thermal Springs at, 345 
St. Leon Springs, 377 
Steamboat Spring, 326 
Sulphur Compound, 226 
Sulphur Springs, Blue, 231 

Group of, in Virginia, 212 

Hot, 357 

in Northern New York, 128 

in Southern New York, 128 

of Bitter Creek, Utah, 334 

Red, 224 

Salt, 229 

Warm, 336 

White, 215 
Sulphuraria, 228 

Sulphureous Springs, division of, 14, 213 
Suwannee, 219 



INDEX. 393 

T. 



Talahatta, 292 

Tampa, 319 

Tea, injurious to the nervous, &c, 28 

Teplitz, Hot Springs of, 314 

Thermal Spring, definition of, 16 

Springs, list of, in the United States, 37 
Saline, 340, 1 
Tuscarora Acid Spring, 359 
Tyre's Spring, 278 

U. 

Utah Lake, 335, 342 

Warm Springs of, 342 

V. 

Vapor Bathing, 317 

Physiological effects of, 317 

Baths at Washitaw, 306 
Varennes, 376 
Vermilionville, 276 
Verona Springs, 126 

Vichy Waters, effects of bathing in the, 21 
Volcanic Springs, 355 
Volcanoes, the, of Ruiz and Purace, 137 

acid springs near, 137, 138 

W. 

Walake, 319 

Warm Fountains, 337 

Warm Springs of Bear River, 339 

of Georgia, 288 

" Fall River, 349 

Near Great Salt Lake, 336-42 



394 INDEX. 

Warm Springs of North Carolina, 282 

Tennessee, 281 

Lake Utah, 342 

Virginia, 197 
Warrenton, 187 
Washitaw, Acidulous Springs of, 308 

Chalybeate of, 308 

Hot Springs, 302 

Description of, 310 

Soup-like taste of their water, 308, 310 
Therapeutic value of, 309 
Water, hot, internal use of, 210 
Westport, 274 
West's Spring, 286 
White's Creek, 277 
Wildbad, delights of bathing at, 203 
Winchester, 279 
Wines, factitious, 27 



Y. 



Yellow Spring, Ohio, 273 
Springs, Penn., 178 
York Springs, 173 



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